Mahmoud Abdulaziz
{{Short description|Sudanese singer-songwriter (1967-2013)}}
{{about||the Egyptian actor|Mahmoud Abdel Aziz}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Mahmood Abdulaziz
| image = Mahmoud abdelaziz elhoot.jpg
| native_name = محمود عبد العزيز
| native_name_lang = ar
| birth_date = 16 October 1967
| birth_place = Khartoum, Sudan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|1|17|1967|10|16}}
| death_place = Amman, Jordan
| genre = Music of Sudan, Arabic, African
| occupation = singer-songwriter
| years_active = 1994-2013
}}
Mahmoud Abdulaziz ({{langx|ar|محمود عبد العزيز}}, 16 October 1967 – 17 January 2013, Khartoum, Sudan) also transcribed as Mahmoud Abdel Aziz and affectionately known as Elhoot or Al-hoot (The Whale), was a popular Sudanese singer-songwriter. Called "Sudan's idol of the youth”, he was a central figure for Sudanese music fans, opposing the military government of the day.{{Cite news|last=Beaumont, Peter|first=and Zeinab Mohammed Salih|date=2019-02-07|title=The dead Sudanese singer inspiring revolt against Omar al-Bashir|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/07/unfettered-spirit-of-sudanese-singer-lives-on-in-bashir-protests-mahmoud-abdelaziz-moons-of-the-countryside|access-date=2020-08-14|issn=0261-3077}}
Life and artistic career
Mahmoud Abdulaziz was born in the Bahri district of Khartoum in 1967, and died in hospital in Amman in January 2013.{{cite web|title=Sudan in mourning|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/1152.aspx|website=Al-Ahram Weekly|accessdate=20 January 2018|date=2013}}{{cite web|last1=Shimkovitz|first1=Brian|title=The Sudans on cassette: Awesome Tapes from Africa's collection|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/08/-sp-awesome-tapes-from-africa-sudan-south-sudan-pop-classical|website=The Guardian|accessdate=20 January 2018|language=English|date=8 December 2014}} His music was a blend of modern urban music from Sudan and Western pop music, with occasional other African influences. Even though his songs were banned on Sudan's national television and radio during the years of Sharia-inspired Public Order Laws, when many singers, artists and politicians had to flee the country, because of conservative religious intolerance against popular music, Abdulaziz stayed in Sudan and continued to perform, risking arrest.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-03|title=Al Hoot: Remembering Mahmoud Abdelaziz & His Progressive Politics|url=https://500wordsmag.com/miscellaneous/al-hoot-remembering-mahmoud-abdelaziz-his-progressive-politics/|access-date=2020-08-14|website=500 Words Magazine|language=en-US}}
At the time of his death, he had become a symbol for those wanting a more secular and less repressive Sudan.{{cite web|last1=Ibrahim|first1=Ayman Elias|title=Mahmoud Abdulaziz pronounced clinically dead|url=http://aymanelias.blogspot.no/2013/01/mahmoud-abdulaziz-pronounced-clinically.html|accessdate=21 January 2018|language=English|date=2013}} Abdulaziz recorded more than 30 albums, widely available in Sudan on cassette tapes or bootleg CDs. Several of the many YouTube videos with his music have more than one million views.{{Cite web|title=محمود عبد العزيز|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvtnqlyzYkJ-zLrmewD7B7w|access-date=2020-05-05|website=YouTube|language=en}} An example for his great popularity is the attendance of several tens of thousands of his fans at the fourth anniversary of his death in Khartoum in January 2017.{{cite news|title=Fans mark fourth anniversary of death of Sudanese singer with songs and tears|url=https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/fans-mark-fourth-anniversary-of-death-of-sudanese-singer-with-songs-and-tears|accessdate=12 February 2018|agency=Dabanga Sudan|date=19 January 2017|quote='Khartoum Stadium, which can accommodate up to 45,000 people, was overcrowded with young men and women on Tuesday. Mahmoud Abdelaziz fans chanted a large number of his songs, with tears flowing from their eyes saying “we will not forget you”.+ '}}{{Cite web|date=2019-09-16|title=Mahmoud Abdel Aziz The story of an artist who inspired|url=https://khartoumstar.com/en/2019/09/16/mahmoud-abdel-aziz-the-story-of-an-artist-who-inspired-the-sudanese-people/|access-date=2020-08-14|website=Khartoum Star|language=en-US}}
Trivia
During a concert, a disabled fan, who could not get as close to the stage as he would have wanted, sought to catch the attention of his idol, and started waving his hands. This worked, and Abdulaziz mimicked his movements, and also came to greet the fan. Later, it became habitual for the artist to greet his devoted fans in this way, at every concert. Subsequently, crossed arms with index fingers pointing outwards became his symbol, and was in turn taken up by other fans. Even on his deathbed, Mahmoud was photographed in this pose.
Select Discography
;Albums
- 1994: Khalli Balak
- 1995: Sakat Al-Rabab
- 1996: Jawab lilbalad
- 1996: Seb enadak
- 2001: qaed al istul
- 2002: Fi bali
- 1998: lahib alshoug
- 2000: Noor Alain
- 2000: alaa alnajeela
- 2000: ma tishly ham
- 2001: ash man shafak
- 2001: bartah liek
- 2002: Shail Jarrah
- 2002: Aktubi eli
- 2003: adaat sanna
- 2005: marat alayam
- 2005: saab albalad
- 2005: Khof alwajaa
- 2007: Alhaneen
- 2008: ya zoul ya tieb
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.discogs.com/artist/3627231 Mahmoud Abdulaziz discography] at Discogs
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaO5w6i3c-0&list=RDkaO5w6i3c-0#t=635 YouTube mix list]
- [https://www.facebook.com/elhoooot Facebook fan page]
- [http://www.sudanile.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49181:2013-01-17-10-06-16&catid=42:2008-05-19-17-16-29&Itemid=60 Obituary in Arabic about Mahmoud Abdulaziz]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulaziz, Mahmud}}