Abdel Karim al Kabli
Sudanese musician and composer (1932–2021)
Abdel Karim al Kabli (Arabic: عبد الكريم الكابلي), sometimes spelled el Kably or al Kably (13 April 1932 – 2 December 2021), was a popular Sudanese singer-songwriter, poet, composer and humanitarian, known for his songs with themes of love, passion, nationalism, Sudanese culture and folklore.
Early life
Al Kabli was born in the city of Port Sudan in 1932. During childhood, he developed an interest in the Arabic language, especially old Arabic poems, and learned to play music on a penny whistle. At the age of sixteen, he moved to Khartoum to attend the Khartoum Commercial Secondary School, where he studied Sudanese folk music and Arabic poetry. Further, his musical interest evolved to the oud (Arabic lute) and shetern (small drum), which he learned by himself.
Al Kabli's songs
Al Kabli's more than 150 songs contain a diversity of topics and references, including love, passion, revolution, nationalism and Sudanese folklore. Some of his songs use lyrics from classical Arabic poems by the 10th-century Iraqi poet Abu Firas al-Hamdani, the Umayyad Caliph Yazid ibn Mu’awiya, Egyptian poet Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad (1889–1964), as well as by prominent Sudanese poets, for example Muhammad Said el-Abbas (1880–1963), Tawfik Salih Jibril (1897–1966), Muhammad el-Mahdi el-Magzoub (1919–1983), and Muhammad al-Fayturi (1936–2015). Other lyrics are in Sudanese Arabic dialect that show his appreciation of the country's spoken language and customs.
Some of his famous songs include "Ya Bint Ashreen" (Oh that girl in her twenties), "Husenek Fa Masher" (My Love Is More Than The Sweet Perfume...), "Sukker Sukker" (Sugar, Sugar), "Asia wa Africa" (Asia and Africa), "Noama", "Cleopatra", "Limaza" (Why?), and "Merowi" (name of the ancient city Meroë in Sudan).
Humanitarian advocacy
Al Kabli was active in peace and reconciliation efforts in Darfur and South Sudan and, through his music and social influence, stressed the rich ethnic diversity in the country.
The public source identifies “Abdel Karim al Kabli” as sudanese musician and composer (1932–2021). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Abdel, Karim and Kabli.
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