Mohamed Mounir Celebrates His 69th Birthday

Acclaimed Egyptian singer Mohamed Mounir is turning 69th on October 10. He was born in Aswan, but his family moved to Cairo after the immigration of Nubian people during the construction of the High Dam. Mounir graduated from the photography, cinema, and TV department at the Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University.

In the late 1970s, he began his musical career, singing with his brother Fouad who supported him throughout his journey.

Mounir's real debut came when he met prominent Egyptian poet Abdel Reheem Mansour and Nubian musician and singer Ahmed Mounib. 

The meeting marked the beginning of a collaboration with international jazz legend Yehia Khalil, Mounir, Mansour, and Mounib which would change the shape of Egyptian music and construct an influential chapter in Arabic music history.

Mounir was the first Arab singer to introduce jazz music to Arab listeners, mixing Nubian music with the scale of fifths, which is also known in Arabic as "Al-Selem Al-Khomasy". His album "Shababik" was listed as one of the best Arabic/African music albums.

Mounir's musical style is characterized by singing in a mixed Egyptian/Nubian accent. He sang in pure Nubian in the song "Shamandoura," and in a Moroccan accent in "Hikmet Al-Aqdar" (The Wisdom of Fates).

The iconic singer is also known for his acting career. He appeared in many films and series, including "Al-Youm Al-Sades" [The Sixth Day] and "Al-Maseer" [The Fate] with veteran late Egyptian director Youssef Shahin.

Mounir played the role of the singer in the play "Al-Malek Howa Al-Malek" and his last role on screen was in 2016 in the documentary series "Al-Moghani" [The Singer], which tackled Mounir's biography.

The main themes of Mounir's songs are peace, love, hope, Egypt, and childhood. His spiritual album "Al Ard Wal Salam" [The Land and Peace], released in 2002, brought him CNN's Prize of Peace. Mounir also won MEMA in 2008 for Best Singer. Mounir won the Platinum Award for Best Arab Egyptian Singer from the international music production company Universal and was awarded the Diamond Award by the BAMA Awards. His song "Yasmina," which featured Adel al-Tawel and Ich Und Ich band, sold 700,000 copies in Germany, while "El-Laila Ya Samra" was listed as one of the best 50 African songs of the 20th century by BBC.

Mounir sang the official theme song of the famous Egyptian cartoon "Bakkar". He is one of the most beloved Egyptian artists by the Egyptian youth and elite alike. Mounir cooperated with a number of leading artists and released "Aa'lam Gadeed" [New World] with Hamid al-Sha'ery, "Belad Tiba" [Tiba Lands] with Anoushka, "Leh ya Donia El-Wahed" [Why Life] with Khaled Aggag, and "Al-Qahera" with Amr Diab. 

In 2017, Mounir collaborated with Adel al-Tawil in "One World". The German Ministry of Education decided to teach the song to 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade students in German schools. The song aims to teach children the importance of accepting others and living together peacefully despite coming from different backgrounds.

"One World" song is a trio by King Mounir, the German-Egyptian singer Adel Tawil, and the World Music Award winner Youssou N'Dour. The song was dedicated to the refugees and released in four languages to reach the largest number of audiences around the world.