Dana Salah
Dana Salah | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Salah in 2013 | |
| Born | 1989 (age 34–35) Amman, Jordan |
| Other names | King Deco |
| Education | Duke University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
| Website | danasalah |
Dana Salah (Arabic: دانا صلاح, Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [ˈdæːnæː ˈsˤlˤɑːħ]; born 1989) is a Jordanian singer, songwriter and producer of Palestinian descent.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Salah was born and raised in Amman, Jordan, where she started writing music at the age of 9. As a child, she was diagnosed with ADHD.[2] Following her education at Duke University, North Carolina, she pursued her music career in New York City.[3]
Career
[edit]Under the stage name King Deco, Salah started her career as a DJ in Brooklyn and as a songwriter for other artists and TV advertising, with one her songs featuring in a Maybelline commercial. She also briefly worked as a model for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Her 2017 single "Move That Body" garnered over 11 million streams on Spotify, reached #6 on the US iTunes Dance charts, and peaked at #25 on the Billboard Dance charts.[4]
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the success of her 2019 single "Castaway", Salah returned to Jordan and released her first Arabic single, "Weino", under her own name, incorporating sounds of the daf and other traditional Arab instruments. It generated over 1 million views in 3 months on YouTube and was added to more than 1000 personal playlists on Spotify.[4][5] In 2022 Salah became a Spotify Equal ambassador, making her the first female Jordanian artist to be featured on a billboard in Times Square.[6]
In October 2023, in response to the Gaza genocide amid the Israel–Hamas war, 25 Middle Eastern and North African artists, including Salah, collaborated on the single "Rajieen".[7] She also released her single "Ya Tal3een"[8] based off the coded Palestinian folk song "Yā Ṭāliʻīn ʻalā l-Jabal" (يا طالعين على الجبل), sung by women to men jailed in Israeli prisons.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Dabeet, Huda (25 October 2021). "Dana Salah embraces Arab culture". Jordan News. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "We Spoke To Dana Salah: Artistry, ADHD, and Arab Identity". Yalla! Let's Talk. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.[dead link]
- ^ Sandran, Aravin; See, Nicholas (17 June 2022). "Dana Salah: 'Female Empowerment Has Been a Huge Part of My Artistry'". GQ Middle East. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ a b Shtayyeh, Suhad (28 August 2021). "International Pop Sensation Dana Salah Asks, 'Weino?'". Ciin Magazine. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ Gordon, Grace (11 August 2021). "Here's Why Dana Salah Shed Her King Deco Moniker to Embrace Her Arab Heritage". Savoir Flair. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Saleh, Hams (21 June 2022). "Arab singer Dana Salah Shines on New York's Times Square Billboard". Arab News. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Mekkaoui, Meeran (31 October 2023). "'Rajieen' Unites 25 MENA Artists in a Resounding Ode to Palestine". GQ Middle East. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Salah, Dana (7 January 2024). Dana Salah - Ya Tal3een (full version) يا طالعين. Retrieved 9 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Hazboun, Christina (21 December 2021). "Don't Leave: Reviving the folk songs of Palestinian women". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
External links
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