Yahya Hussein Abdallah

Yahya Hussein Abdallah is a singer and composer of devotional songs and reciter of the Qur’an from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He credits his mother and father, who composed praise songs in Swahili, for transmitting their musical knowledge to him and teaching him how to shape his voice.

In parallel with his secular education, he received a religious education in a madrasah and later studied Arab maqam and naghma. At the age of 20, he travelled to Beirut, where he met the young composer and oud player Ziad Sahhab, whom Yahya Hussein Abdallah credits as an important influence on the development of his musicianship.

He performs praise songs, including the famous 13th-century Burdah of Imam al-Busiri, and sings both a cappella and with the accompaniment of instruments, which can range from violin and oud to electric keyboard and synthesizer. His music videos, under the name Yahya Bihaki Hussein, embody his charismatic voice and present his repertoire of praise songs in a contemporary aesthetic framework.