Rasha (born 1971,

Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

) as Rasha Sheikh Al Deen is a

Sudanese music The rich and varied music of Sudan has traditional, rural, northeastern African roots and also shows Arabic, Western or other African influences, especially on the popular urban music from the early 20th century onwards. Since the establish ...

al artist and actress, known both for her music as well as for her appearance in the movies ''The Sheik and I'' (2012) and ''Lush'' (1999).

Biography

Rasha's singing in her native

Sudanese Arabic Sudanese Arabic, also referred to as the Sudanese dialect (), Colloquial Sudanese () or locally as Common Sudanese () refers to the various related varieties of Arabic spoken in Sudan as well as parts of Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Chad. Sudane ...

combines the musical traditions of Sudan and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. In the arrangements of her songs, she has also embraced, among other musical styles, Afro-pop,

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

. In 1991, she moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and released her

debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

album, ''Sudaniyat'', in 1997. In 2008, her second album, ''Let me be'', including songs in Spanish or English, was released. That same year, one of her songs was featured in the compilation ''La Sal de la Vida (''The Salt of the Earth'')'' with María Salgado,

Uxía Uxía (born November 19, 1962 in Sanguiñeda, Mos (Spain), Mos) is a musician from Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Her songs are based on traditional music, reinterpreted with a renewed and personal treatment. Among other projects, she is the ar ...

, and Xesús Pimentel. In 2017, Rasha was a performing artist at The Mayor of London's Eid Festival on Trafalgar Square. That same year, she was a guest at Shubbak, an annual event at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

for Arab-speaking artists that celebrates contemporary

Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...

. Rasha comes from a large family, which includes intellectuals, artists, and musicians. Her brother Wafir, for example, played with the Spanish world music band

Radio Tarifa Radio Tarifa was a Spanish World music ensemble, combining Flamenco, Arab-Andalusian music, Arabic music, Moorish music and other musical influences of the Mediterranean, the Middle Ages and the Caribbean. The name of the ensemble comes from an ...

. Rasha's song "''Ojos de gacela''" (Eyes of

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third f ...

) was nominated as

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 2003 Spanish

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sc ...

References

{{Authority control 20th-century Sudanese women singers Living people 1971 births 21st-century Sudanese women singers