Nasser El Mezdawi (born 5 September 1950) is a Libyan singer, guitarist, songwriter and composer. Born in Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

, Mezdawi Study in Jamal Eddin Almiladi Institute of Music in Tripoli. Along with being one of, if not the pioneer of Modern Arabic pop music

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 sometimes called progressive music, he has composed songs for the likes of Amr Diab

Amr Diab

Amr Abdol-Basset Abdol-Azeez Diab is an Egyptian singer and composer of geel music; the contemporary face of Egyptian el-geel pop music, according to World Music. Diab is the best-selling Arab recording artist of all time, according to Let's Go Egypt...

and many other Arab Pop singers.

Discography

• 2000 Wahdani
• 1997 Raja'a
• 1983 Angham libiya
• 1975 Ughniyat an El ghurba (Annusour)

Biography

Mezdawi's first band Annusur, translates to The Eagles, released their first album "Ughniyat an Elghurba" in 1975 gaining instant popularity that rewarded them their first gold record. Mezdawi went on to participate in several international music festivals, giving concerts in Mexico, Cuba, USA, Portugal Malta and Greece. Nasser El Mezdawi is arguably the most popular artist that came out of Libya in the mid seventies. His work has been appreciated by the younger generation in urban North Africa and other Arab countries.

Much of his early work has been copied by other performers from the region, in fact, some very popular performers started out their careers, almost exclusively, covering his songs. This distinguished guitarist who survived trends, hype and persecution is one of few consistent composers, singers/song-writers that have put their mark, permanently, in the history of music in the region.

Darja, the Arabic dialect of North Africa, is the lyrical language of this sound. While the music is not necessarily Arabic, the rhythms are often mixtures of Berber, Arab, African and popular European. Artists usually reflect their diverse ethnic backgrounds through their own distinguishable work. The progressive sound remained local for the most part but Mezdawi's music broke into the international market through other Arab and European performers.

Nasser El Mezdawi is a pioneer in this form of music whom, many believe, is responsible for transforming the way young, urban Arab performers view and express their music today. QTF-1998