Shaaban Abdel Rahim Passes Away at 62

Folklore singer, Shaaban Abdel Rahim has shortly passed away at Maadi Military Hospital, after a battle with illness, the singer's son has announced.

Abdel Rahim passed away at the age of 62, after being admitted to the hospital a while ago.

The late singer had recently performed at Riyadh season in Saudi Arabia in a wheelchair due to the severity of his illness.

"I am currently at Maadi military hospital finishing the death permits." Essam, late singer's son, said in a press statement.

Khaled Bayoumi, Undersecretary of Actors' Syndicate revealed that the funeral will be held on Tuesday afternoon, from Sayyida Nafisa mosque.

Details regarding the consolation marquee have not been revealed yet.

A debate was raised in 2018 on social media after users circulated a photo of the singer from inside an intensive care unit (ICU) room, which coincidence with the star's stay in a hospital after he suffered on October 8 from shortness of breath.

The users claimed that the photo was from inside his hospital room and showed his current health condition.

However, the truth behind the photo dates back to 2014, which was a screenshot from a YouTube video that combines old pictures of Abdel Rahim from his stay in a hospital.

The popular singer had suffered from shortness of breath after he returned from Syria and was admitted to a hospital to receive medical treatment.

Abdel Rahim, also known as Shaabola, was an Egyptian folklore (Shaabi) singer. He was born on March 15, 1957, in Cairo, Egypt.

He worked for many years as a laundry presser before becoming a singer and soon become known for his political lyrics songs.

He performed a large number of songs that were very popular in the Arab world, most notably "I will stop smoking", and "I Hate Israel", which caused a great deal of controversy.

Abdel Rahim also presented a TV show as well as a number of plays with renowned comedian Samir Ghanem.

He also co-starred in film "citizen, informant and thief" directed by Daoud Abdel Sayed, and "Falah in Congress" directed by Fahmi Sharkawi.

Abdel Rahim was considered to be one of the most popular Egyptian singers, following a string of hits.