Sayed Khalifa


Sayed Khalifa was a Sudanese singer and composer. Khalifa was one of the first Sudanese singers trained in formal music theory. He was mainly active from the 1950s to the 1970s, and sang in both Standard Arabic as well as in Sudanese Arabic. He is best known for his songs "Ya Watani" and "Izzayakum Keifinnakum".

Life and career

Khalifa was born in 1928 in Ad Dibeiba, near Khartoum, Sudan. In 1947, he won a scholarship to the Arab Music Institute in Cairo, where he studied music. After touring venues in Africa for several years, Khalifa returned to the newly independent Sudan in 1956 and performed the patriotic anthem "Ya Watani". He released other popular songs like "Lailun Wa Khamrun Wa Shifah", "Ana Maly wa Malo" and "Mambo as-Sudani". In 2018, his song Igd Allooli was reissued on the CD compilation Two Niles to Sing a Melody: The Violins and Synths of Sudan.
After the ascension of Omar al-Bashir's government to power in 1989, censorship made it difficult for Khalifa to continue with his career. He died on 2 July 2, 2001 from heart problems.

Discography