Biography of Sami Yusuf
Sami Yusuf is a flamboyant singer who has long been called the main star of the Islamic world. Having introduced the new format of Muslim music to the world community, he instantly became a real star both in his native Great Britain and in many other countries in different parts of the world.
That is why today the conversation about the work of this outstanding musician seems especially interesting. After all, Sami Yusuf is a singer like no other. And for that he should be respected.
The early years, childhood and family of Sami Yusuf
Sami Yusuf was born in July 1980 in the Iranian city of Tehran. His parents were ethnic Azerbaijanis, and therefore, from early childhood, our today’s hero was perfectly familiar with several peoples and cultures at once.
The songs of the Muslim artist Sami Yusuf are popular all over the world
Acquaintance with the world continued after the family of the future performer moved to distant Great Britain, which very soon became native to Sami Yusuf. It was here that he first began to study music. He played a variety of musical instruments, and often changed teachers.
All this was done in order to get acquainted with various teaching methods, as well as a wide variety of music schools. The apogee of all this was admission to the Royal Academy of Music. In this place, our today’s hero studied the subtleties of the Western musical tradition, as well as the traditional melodies of the East.
This approach eventually allowed the British performer to develop his own special style of singing, which ultimately became the basis for the musician’s further popularity.
The creative path of the singer Sami Yusuf
For the first time, the unique voice of Sami Yusuf sounded on the disc “Al-Mu’allim”, which appeared on the shelves of the UK in 2003. This album very quickly gained popularity among Muslim emigrants permanently residing in England, and some time later – among Muslims around the world.
The rise in popularity of the first album was greatly facilitated by the release of the second album of the musician – “My Ummah” – which appeared in stores in 2005. The new disc gave the world several new hits. And therefore, soon our today’s hero became well known not only among the emigrants of England, but also among the inhabitants of the entire Islamic world.
In total, the circulation of the first two records of the musician exceeded seven million copies. The main hits from both albums hit the top lines of various ratings and charts. Music videos began to rapidly gain hundreds and thousands of new views on the popular You Tube portal.
In a separate word, it is also worth mentioning the composition “Hasbi Rabbi”, which in just a few months has become one of the most popular ringtones on the planet. In the second half of the 2000s, this composition sounded literally in all phones of the Arab world and Turkey.
In 2009, Sami Yusuf was named one of the 100 most influential people in the Muslim world. He repeated the same achievement in 2010.
In the same period, the musician’s concerts were successfully held all over the world. The geography of the tour performances of our today’s hero stretched from Egypt to Lebanon and from Tehran to Baku. In 2007, he gave a grandiose concert in Istanbul, which, according to some Turkish media reports, gathered more than 200 thousand listeners.
In 2009, Sami Yusuf briefly interrupted his touring activities due to the release of the album “Without You”, which, according to the musician, was released without his consent. During this period, a major scandal flared up in the courts of London, connected with the consideration of the question of the legality of such a decision. The singer demanded that the unfinished album be withdrawn from sale, and also urged his fans not to purchase it.
Ultimately, the album remained on the shelves, but Sami Yusuf broke off cooperation with his former record company. It is quite remarkable that on some portals of the album “Without You” is not even included in the artist’s official discography.
Sami Yusuf now
In collaboration with the new label ETM international, the artist has released two new albums. During this period, he began to collaborate frequently with other performers and musicians. As a result of this, the albums “Wherever You Are” (circulation of 5 million copies) and “Salaam” appeared, the work on which took place in England, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Many of the lead tracks on these albums have been recorded in multiple languages.
Currently, the singer is actively working on recording a new album, which should be called “Lilmar” and will appear in the near future.
The main themes of Sami Yusuf’s work and political views
Most of Sami Yusuf’s compositions have clear religious overtones. In his compositions, he sings about love for Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. In addition, political overtones often appear in the musician’s songs. In some lyrics, he criticizes the French government for banning hijabs in schools; draws attention to the plight of the Palestinians, and also criticizes radical Islamists and terrorists.
Sami Yusuf prefers to hide his personal life
These views are easily correlated with his numerous charity tours. Free performances of the musician in different years were held in the Gaza Strip, Pakistan, South Africa and many other regions of the world.
Personal life of Sami Yusuf
Like any other devout Muslim, Sami Yusuf does not expose the details of his personal life. It is known that the musician is married and has a son. However, it is difficult to say anything else about the family life of a famous singer.
