5 Interesting Facts About Etab, The Black Saudi Songstress

1. Born on 30 December 1947 in Saudi Arabia, Etab was the most famous black singer in the Arab world. She is considered by some as the first Saudi female singer because she is the first woman who became a pop star in several countries.

 

 

2. Etab’s real name was Tarfa Abdel-Kheir Adam. She was a Bedouin, and sang traditional Bedouin songs as well as folk songs from other Arab countries such as Egypt and Libya. She sometimes mixed traditional and contemporary songs.

 

 

 

3. One of her most popular songs was a traditional Iraqi folk song titled Gani Al-Asmar, which means The Dark One Approached Me. She had a husky voice considered as her trademark. Some of the genres she sang include jalsa, tarab, and maqamat. The video below shows Etab performing Gani Al-Asmar.

    

    

4. Etab first became famous in Kuwait. She performed in several other countries and her performances attracted large crowds.

 

 

5. She married an Egyptian man and lived in Egypt with her family. She received the Egyptian citizenship in 1983. After her divorce, she moved to the United Arab Emirates. Etab later returned to Egypt where she died on August 19, 2007.

LISTEN
We played Etab’s music on episode 132 of BantuNauts RAYdio show. Click below to listen to that episode.

 
WATCH
For more videos of Etab, check out this playlist of her videos that are available on YouTube.