Ahmed Adaweya

Ahmed Adaweyah has been shocking and delighting Egyptians for decades with his always acceptable yet borderline risqué songs. Adaweyah first worked in a cafe, but in 1971 he began performing songs forged in the crucible of the Cairo streets, full of working-class slang and double-entendres. Like many shaabi (working-class) musicians, Adaweyah specialized in mawal (vocal improvisation). From the beginning, Adaweyah worked the music scene hard, performing not only in Egypt but also on the English club circuit, and soon he began to rocket to stardom. Despite his considerable newfound wealth, Adaweyah remained a champion of the working class and a sly critic of middle-class complacency, stances that kept Egypt's censors working overtime. More recently, Adaweyah has been the subject of some criticism; his introduction of drum machines and synthesizers in the early '90s was seen by many as a step backwards, while rumors circulated that the great singer had been emasculated by an angry Saudi whom Adaweyah had jilted. After a lengthy spell recovering, he returned to recording in 1990. ~ Leon Jackson, Rovi