Dina El Wedidi, Rasha

Singled out for the originality of her voice and style by all who hear her, Egyptian Dina El Wedidi has made her mark on her country’s music scene over the past six years. El Wedidi, 2012–2013 music protégée, started composing songs when she was young and during university in Cairo where she studied oriental languages.

Her songs are infused with the political concerns of Egypt. From 2007 to 2010, El Wedidi worked as a singer and actress with the El Warsha Theatre Troupe, exploring Egyptian folklore and performing in such unlikely places as a Cairo prison. During this period (2009–2010), she also performed classical Egyptian and Arab songs with the Habayebna band, before establishing her own band in 2011.

El Wedidi performed at Cairo’s Jazz Festival in 2013 with her mentor Gilberto Gil, who gave her advice on her debut album, on which he will be a guest performer. “My meeting with Gil in Cairo was the most important event in the year; singing with him in the same festival was a great honour, especially him being in my country,” she says. In addition, El Wedidi benefited by being with Gil at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Representing the diversity of Sudanese music, Rasha's spectacular vocals range from Arabic poetry, sufi music and hints of reggae.

Descended from a long line of artists and musicians (all of her 19 siblings are involved in the arts), Rasha worked in production for the theatre, television and radio while singing, composing and studying music in her spare time with the intention of turning music into a career. Realizing that there were very limited opportunities for professional musicians in war-torn Sudan, she moved to Cairo in 1991 and subsequently to Spain. It was in Spain that Rasha began work on the critically acclaimed album, Sudaniyat (named by Folk Roots editor Ian Anderson as "One of the 10 best of 1997").