MOGADISHU — Renowned Somali singer, composer and musician Ahmed Ali Egal, one of the country’s most influential cultural figures, died in the United States on Friday, where he had been living in recent years. He was in his late 70s.
His death prompted an outpouring of grief from fellow artists, family members and Somalis at home and abroad, who remembered him as a pioneer whose work helped shape modern Somali music.
Born in the late 1940s in Wardheer in Somalia’s Doollo region, Egal moved to Mogadishu in the early 1960s, where he pursued his education and began a career that would span more than five decades.
His musical journey began in 1964 when Radio Mogadishu broadcast his first recorded song, “Bari iyo Galbeed, Keebaa na Baantay?” The song earned widespread acclaim and launched a career that would establish him as one of Somalia’s most celebrated performers.
Egal later joined the National School of Music, where he received formal training in composition and musical performance. He went on to become a leading member of Somalia’s famed Waaberi National Troupe, contributing as both a performer and composer.
Throughout his career, he composed melodies for hundreds of songs performed by some of Somalia’s best-known artists while also recording many of his own. His work featured prominently in acclaimed Somali stage productions, including Talo iyo Tallaabo, Yaxaas Dhagaduub and Shabeelnaagood.
Among the songs most closely associated with his musical legacy are Batalaale, Candaliibka, Raad Abeeso, Dadnimada Aqoonso, Galaydh, Feejignow, Haasaawe, Gayaan, Gacallo and Caraweelo, many of which remain enduring classics in Somali music.
Ahmed Ali Egal’s death marks the loss of one of Somalia’s most accomplished musicians and composers, whose contributions to the country’s music, poetry and cultural heritage left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire new generations.
