Bilal (born 1983) is a Lebanese singer of

Nawari Nawar is an Arabic term for several nomad communities used primarily in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. The term, regarded as derogatory, is used by Arabs for several diverse ethnic groups. They have historically been called "Gyp ...

descent, who is notable for singing not only in Arabic, but mainly in Domari, his native language.

Background

Ban Bella El Hantir, also known as Bilal, the Arab Gipsy Prince, comes from the

Dom people The Dom (also called Domi; ar, دومي / ALA-LC: ', / , Ḍom / or , or sometimes also called Doms) are descendants of the Dom (caste), Dom with origins in the Indian subcontinent which through ancient migrations are found scattered across ...

, a Romany Middle Eastern ethnic group that Gadjos call the "Nawar" in Arabic. Like most nomadic Domi families, Bilal's clan constantly moves from one place to another throughout the Middle East. To earn their wage during their stops, grown up men play musical instruments and sing, and women dance and tell good fortune. As for young boys, they often work as

shoeshiners Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

in large cities such as

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Musical career

Bilal was a

shoeshine boy Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

when

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

- Lebanese producer Michel Elefteriades met him after he heard him singing an Arab Gipsy song while shining a customer's shoes on the sidewalk near his Beirut office. This was in 1997 and Bilal was only 14 years old. Elefteriades was immediately struck by his young voice and felt the artistic potential the young man had for future success. Moreover, being an eminent tziganologist, he was eager to launch a successful career for an artist who comes from the Dom community and to reflect its impact positively on the image of Gypsies around the Arab world. As Bilal was

illiterate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

and had never been to school, Elefteriades started and supported both his general and musical education, also providing him with the necessary skills and assets that would enable him to put up with the stress and responsibilities of future stardom. BilalGipsyOnStage3

In 2002, Bilal started performing in concerts and was guest to major Arab TV shows on the Middle East's prime

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

television networks. The peak of his success story was his appearance at one of the most prestigious performing arts festival in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, the

Baalbeck International Festival The Baalbeck International Festival ( ar, مهرجانات بعلبك الدولية, french: Festival International de Baalbeck) is a cultural event in Lebanon. Since 1955, people from around the world have gone to the city of Baalbek in the Beqaa ...

. Bilal's recordings include, for the first time in history, songs in the gypsy language known as Domari, a language that Bilal has noticed to be very close to

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, as he was able to communicate with his

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

cousins from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, each speaking their own mother tongue. In 2012 Bilal was a guest on

Coke Studio (Middle East) Coke Studio Bel 3arabi (Coke Studio بالعربي) is a music television programme in the Middle East and North Africa featuring performances by various Arabic and international music artists. It is inspired by the Pakistani show of the same na ...

alongside

Rouwaida Attieh Rouwaida Attieh ( ar, رويدا عطية; born July 1, 1982) is a Syrian vocalist. Rouwaida was the first runner-up on the first season of Super Star, the pan-Arab import of "Pop Idol". Along with Lebanese contestant Melhem Zein, she was a favo ...

and The Yugoslavian Gypsy Brass Band from the Balkan. They all come together to create a fusion where the Oriental Tarab music meets the Gypsy music with all its facets. In 2014 Bilal was featured in the book ''"Beirut Re-Collected" by Tamyras.'' In the summer of 2014, Bilal released his first album entitled: ''Bilal The Gipsy Prince''. In the summer of 2016, he performed at the MusicHallogy Festival, which was held at The MusicHall Waterfront. In July 2017, he appeared in another prestigious performing arts festival in the Arab world, The Jounieh International Festival.

Activism

In addition to being an artist, Bilal is also working actively for the recognition of his people, the Dom, who still live in poor conditions. Results of his struggle are starting to show, as more people are realizing that the " Nawar" have a rich cultural heritage that deserves to be known and recognized.

References

External links

Tannour – Bilal song on last.fm

JENNO NOTTO – BILAL THE ARAB GIPSY PRINCE

POUR UN FLIRT AVEC TOI – BILAL THE ARAB GIPSY PRINCE

YA BENT EL SULTAN – BILAL THE ARAB GIPSY PRINCE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilal 1983 births Dom people Living people 21st-century Lebanese male singers Lebanese Romani people Nawar people Romani singers