Hibo Nuura (Hibo Maxamed Nuur)

Who is she?

Hibo Nuura is one of the most prominent Somali singers (Wikipedia, Hibo Nura). Her full name is Hibo Mohamed Hudon (same source). Music in Africa lists her among the country's greatest women singers (Music in Africa, "Somali music through the ages").

Early life and first songs

She was born in Dilla, Awdal, in 1954 (Wikipedia). She began her music career as a teenager in 1968 (same source).

With Waaberi

She became famous as a member of Waaberi, the national music troupe (Wikipedia). She was known for love songs and for patriotic songs (same source). Waaberi performed at the National Theatre in Mogadishu (WardheerNews, interview, 7 October 2013). Her career spanned nearly fifty years (Wikipedia). See Somali music.

Abroad

She travelled abroad at the end of 1990 (WardheerNews). She was away when the government fell in January 1991 and Waaberi broke up (same source). She lived in Germany (same source). Wikipedia also records her living in Minneapolis (Wikipedia). See Somalis in Germany.

Coming home

She returned to Mogadishu on 10 September 2013, after more than two decades away (WardheerNews). Wikipedia dates her return to 2014 (Wikipedia). The Benadir administration invited her (WardheerNews). She planned songs to encourage the city's recovery (same source). "The country needs to be rebuilt as we have fallen behind 20 years," she said (same source).

A change in 2015

In February 2015 she said she would leave the music industry for religious reasons (Wikipedia). She said she would keep singing national, patriotic songs (same source).

In her words

"I want to tell Somalis wherever they may be that the country is peaceful," she said on her return (WardheerNews).

In short

A singer whose career spans more than fifty years, who returned to perform in Mogadishu in the 2010s.