Raef (singer)

Raef

Raef performing in Princeton, New Jersey
Background information
Native name رائف حجاج
Birth name Raef Haggag
Born (1982-08-08) August 8, 1982
Washington, D.C., United States
Origin United States
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments
Years active 2011–present
Labels Awakening
Website www.awakening.org/raefmusic/

Raef Haggag (Arabic: رائف حجاج‎‎ ; born August 8, 1982) is an Egyptian American singer from Washington, D.C. He is a prominent American-Muslim songwriter whose songs are for Muslims and faith-based communities around the world. He released his first album The Path produced by Awakening Records in June 2014.[1]

Beginnings

Raef was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Maryland[2] to parents who immigrated from Egypt to attend graduate school. From a young age, he often went fishing, kayaking, and camping with family and friends. Growing up, music had always been an important part of his life. Raef studied Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park and graduated in 2005.[3] During college he sang tenor in a comedic a cappella group on campus. After graduating, Raef worked as a software engineer, developing security software for the New York Stock Exchange. Shortly afterwards, Raef abruptly quit his computer programming job to work as full-time high school teacher from 2005–2013. He said: "I decided to switch careers from a software eng. to a high school teacher because I wanted to help others in a more direct way (and because it was pretty boring sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day)".[4] Raef taught computer programming in Montgomery County Public Schools.[5]

Music career

Teaching gave Raef more time to focus on songwriting, often performing at local coffee shops and busking at metro stations. He was introduced to the national stage after his trio rock band "Great Seneca" toured the United States of America as part of the "Voices for Change" initiative. Raef also joined the "Poetic Vision Tour"; a band of traveling musicians and poets catering to the American Muslim community.[6] Raef did several Islamic covers of popular mainstream songs, attracting young listeners wanting a modern take on religious music[7]

Raef signed with Awakening Records and released his debut album The Path in 2014.[8]

Success in Indonesia

Raef and Vice President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla on The Journey of a Backpacker TV series

Since the release of his debut album The Path, Raef has made several trips to Indonesia to promote his music and perform at live concerts. Appearing on Indonesian national television and invited by mayor Ridwan Kamil to perform at the Bandung Conference brought Raef and his music to millions of Indonesians. Raef was also the star host on 30 episodes of The Journey of a Backpacker, a Ramadan TV series that aired on Kompas TV (later Trans7) across Indonesia and TV Alhijrah in Malaysia. In August 2015, Raef was awarded the "Platinum Award" for record sales in Indonesia.[9] Following the blueprint of Season 1 of "The Journey of a Backpacker" , Raef hosted Season 2 , airing on Trans7, in which he traveled across Java, visiting 30 historic and iconic mosques.[10]

Activities

"We Are Home" – music video project

Raef's song "Home" on his debut album sends a bold message about the American Muslim Identity and the strong feelings of belonging to a country that holds promise and hope for the future. Home nods to American culture, ethos, history, and echoes the "The Star-Spangled Banner" of the land of the free and the brave – all denoting a sense of nostalgia and pride.[11]

Using Detroit-based crowdfunding platform LaunchGood, over $22,000 via online donations were raised to fund the Music Video for "Home", directed by Los-Angeles based director, Lena Khan. The video shows Raef walking through American history observing contributions made by various immigrants to the United States.[12] The video also features contributions made by Native Americans.[13]

On social media, the hashtag #WeAreHome has been used largely in part as a response to rising Islamophobia and xenophobia in the United States and Europe.

Philanthropy

(From left) Maher Zain, Irfan Makki, Raef, Hamza Namira, Mesut Kurtis in "Send a little hope" UK tour, London, April 2012.

Discography

Albums

Year Title Track list
2014 The Path
  1. Peace & Blessings (3:40)
  2. The Bright Moon (Tala'al Badru) (4:37)
  3. So Real (feat. Maher Zain) (4:02)
  4. You Are the One (3:38)
  5. Home (3:07)
  6. No One Knows but Me (4:00)
  7. The Path (3:43)
  8. Mawlaya (4:01)
  9. Call on Him (3:51)
  10. Freedom Ain't Free (feat. Nano Omar) (3:27)
  11. Dream (4:49)
  12. You're There (3:20)

Videography

References

External links

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