Zakaria Abdulla

About Zakaria Abdulla

Zakaria Abdulla is a Kurdish pop singer and keyboardist from Erbil whose albums, recorded in Sweden, became the soundtrack of a generation of Kurds around the turn of the millennium. Most sources give his birth year as 1976, although the exact date differs between them. In 1993 he moved to Sweden, where he first worked as a keyboard player for other Kurdish singers before stepping forward with his own voice.

His debut album, To Hatî, came out in 1998, and six more records followed up to 2010: Bigerêwe, Daye, Rojgar, Têlînaz, Gencî Pîr and Laparey Spî. Rojgar (2002) is widely described as his commercial peak, and its videos were shown across Kurdish satellite television. A defining feature of his music is that he sings in both Sorani and Badini, so his songs crossed the dialect line that runs through the Erbil and Duhok regions.

His style pairs a warm voice with keyboard-led arrangements built on Kurdish dance rhythms and folk melody. Qeder, which opens Laparey Spî, is today his most searched song, alongside Ha Gulê, Boçî Hatî and Bigerêwe.

He has released no new album since 2010 and appears in public only rarely; a large concert in Erbil on 22 September 2017 was a notable exception. He belongs to the first generation of Kurdish pop stars made by satellite television, and his catalogue remains among the most played Kurdish music online.

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