Zyad Asad

About Zyad Asad

Zyad Asad (also spelled Ziad Asaad or Zeyad Assad) is a Kurdish singer, composer and lyricist from Erbil. His love songs of the 1980s and 1990s are still widely sung, and listeners often search for them simply as "Zyad Asad's old songs". He was born in 1966 in the Tayrawa neighbourhood of Erbil. He began singing in 1983 with Duadakam ("I Pray"), with words and music by Qadir Sayahi, and his first cassette came out in 1988.

Over the following years he released five albums, among them Namzani (1998) and Skala (2003). He became known for tender, melodic love songs, many with his own melodies and lyrics. He has also written for other singers: Rudaw credits him with lyrics for about 140 songs by other Kurdish performers, and the late poet Sherko Bekas praised his deep knowledge of Kurdish music. Several younger singers have recently released songs built on his melodies and texts.

Asad left Kurdistan in 1993 and has lived in exile in Europe ever since, mostly in Sweden. His last released song was Are Naze in 2004. His long silence and rare media appearances have fed rumours about his health, which people close to him deny: they say he exercises daily and keeps writing songs and poems. In 2025 a short excerpt of a new, unreleased song raised hopes of a return. His catalogue remains a touchstone of Sorani love songs from Erbil.

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