Hibo Nuura
Songs:
Hibo Maxamed Nur, more commonly known as Hibo Nuura, is one of the most prominent Somali vocalists of the 1980s. She became popular for her nationalistic music and love songs. During her career, she joined the likes of Xaliimo Khaliif Magool as a social activist. She was born in the town of Dilla in Western Somalia in 1958. She began her music career at the age of 18 in 1976. In the 80s, she became part of one of Somalia’s foremost musical supergroups at the time, Waaberi. Waaberi was a government funded group of about 300 musicians who toured the country.
In 1992, one year into the Somali civil war, Hibo Nuura moved abroad to Minneapolis, USA. There she lived for 22 years, before returning to Mogadishu in 2014 to host a music festival, one of the first large cultural festivals in decades. That same year, she had an interview with the news outlet Sabahi Online, where she stated that “the arts can play a decisive role in the development of Somalia at this juncture. If [art is used] every day to tell people about matters related to progress and mass media is used to encourage development, people will become optimistic and carry positive attitudes.”
Find out more here:
- “Hibo Nuura” Kayd Somali Arts and Culture
- “Hibo Nuura quits the music industry” Sahan Journal
- “What’s dhaanto?” Sahan Journal
- “Somalia hosts first cultural festival in decades” Walta Media