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Kareem Salama

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Kareem Salama
Background information
Birth nameKareem Salama
Born1978 (age 45–46)
Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States
OriginPonca City, Oklahoma, United States
GenresCountry, Pop
Occupation(s)Singer, Songwriter, Musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, Guitar
Years active2006–present
LabelsLightRain Records
Websitekareemsalama.com

Kareem Salama is an American musician of North African descent. He is a singer/songwriter and penned by some in the media as the first American Muslim country music singer. His music is a hybrid of country, pop and rock music.[1] He has released 3 albums Generous Peace (2006) This Life of Mine (2007) and a third City of Lights (2011), the latter after signing for LightRain Records.

Background and education

Salama was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States. His parents immigrated to the United States in the late 1960s to attend graduate school.[2] He studied at University of Oklahoma, where he majored in chemical engineering. Then he entered law school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City graduating with a degree in Law.[3]

Career

With his parent's encouragement and financial assistance, Salama began recording his first album Generous Peace while in law school with Greek-American producer, Aristotle Mihalopoulos. Salama also released the title track "Generous Peace" as his debut single accompanied by a music video. After another self-released album titled This Life of Mine, Salama was signed in 2011 to LightRain Records that released his third album to which he is signed.

Salama has performed in front of audiences as far as Rome and London. He also took part in a State Department European concert tour, performing in Paris.[4] He has been featured in major media outlets like the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Reader's Digest, Fox News, Sky News and France 24.[citation needed].

Salama also embarked on a Middle East and North Africa tour in summer 2010.[5] visiting Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Influences

While in school, Salama made time to work on his music with a friend and producer Aristotle Mihalopoulos. Salama says that his music is inspired by a variety of things including his own experiences, experiences of friends and family, and things that he reads. As a result of growing in Oklahoma Salama was around country music from the time he was very young and is attracted to the stories and the reverent nature of country music.[6]

Salama highlights universal themes about love, home and family values. His songs are spiritual, without being overtly religious.[3] One inspired by the writings of an 8th-century Islamic scholar, Imam Muhammed Al-Shafi'ee, endorses the idea of tolerance and avoiding violence in his debut single "Generous Peace": "Gentleman, I'm like incense, the more you burn me, the more I'm fragrant."[3]

The WitWits

The WitWits is a television youth project and is a LightRain Records presentation in association with Zenfilm. It is co-written by Kareem and Omar Salama, directed by W. Ross Wells and produced by Meridith Melville and Brittany Holland. The WitWits is about four kids, Kelly Ann (Alicia Lore), Super K (Caleb Duncan), Spencer (Austin Karkowsky), and Dougie (Grant Goodman) and their adventures in the 1980s, particularly in facing their nemesis, Rodney (Connor Jones). The project includes various television episodes, theatrical music videos as well as musical releases including promotional materials, singles with their debut "Radio Countdown" and a prospective album.[7][8]

Discography

Albums

Salama has released three albums thus far:

Title and details Notes
Generous Peace
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: Self-published
No.TitleLength
1."Get Busy Living" 
2."Baby I'm a Soldier" 
3."A Land Called Paradise" 
4."Valley" 
5."Hold On" 
6."Peace Remain" 
7."Come Now" 
8."Lady Mary" 
9."Chivalry's Not Dead" 
This Life of Mine
  • Released: 2007
  • Label: Self-published
No.TitleLength
1."This Life of Mine" 
2."Generous Peace" 
3."More Than" 
4."I Miss You (Hopefully)" 
5."Rise Up Protectors" 
6."My Tears Aren't Pure" 
7."It Came to Be" 
8."A Friend Like You" 
9."Get Busy Living" (Acoustic)" 
10."My Way Home" 
11."Aristotle and Averroes" 
City of Lights
  • Released: 24 May 2011
  • Label: LightRain Records
No.TitleLength
1."Makes Me Crazy"3:31
2."Heavenly Dreams (feat. Kelley Peters)"4:13
3."1980 Something (feat. The WitWits)"4:12
4."City of Lights"4:57
5."We Could Be Friends"3:54
6."Believe in Love"4:58
7."If I Could"3:28
8."Generous Peace"3:31
9."Beat in My Heart (feat. Electric Love Café)"4:29
10."Love Relentlessly"3:41
11."When I Fall"4:03
12."Picnics and Sunshine"3:39
13."Aristotle and Averroes"3:29
14."Baby I'm a Soldier"4:51
15."Baby I'm a Soldier (Part II)"1:21

EPs

Title and details Notes
Generous Peace EP
  • Released: 7 December 2009
  • Label: Catapult
No.TitleLength
1."Generous Peace"3:34
2."Generous Peace (Pop Remix)"3:34
3."Generous Peace (Acoustic Remix)"3:34
4."When I Fall (Bonus track)"4:02
5."Generous Peace Arabic"3:34
6."Generous Peace Arabic (Pop Remix)"3:34
7."Generous Peace Arabic (Acoustic Remix)"3:34

Singles

Date Song title Album Record label Length
7 December 2009 "Generous Peace" Generous Peace Independent
17 January 2011 "Makes Me Crazy" City of Light LightRain Records
3:29
20 March 2011 "Be Free Now"
(feat. Kelley Peters)
4:02
1 May 2012 "I Am You"
4:50

Videography

  • "Generous Peace" [1] (music video directed by Lena Khan)
    • "Generous Peace" (Arabic) [2]
  • "Makes Me Crazy" [3]
  • "Be Free Now" (feat. Kelley Peters) [4]
  • "1980 Something" (feat. The WitWits) [5]
  • On May 9, 2007, Kareem Salama was interviewed on Fox News about various Muslim American issues.[9]
  • A reportage and brief interview about him was broadcast on France 24.[10]
  • In March 2008, he was interviewed on Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) program "From America" by Jihan Mansour. He also performed live renditions of some of his songs with Aristotle Mihalopoulos [11][12]
  • On 13 July 2008, he was interviewed on Sky News by Adam Boulton.[13]

Notes

References

  1. ^ Beirut The Daily Star article by Amany Al Sayyed
  2. ^ Christian Science Monitor article by Tome Peter: "Backstory: A Country-Western Muslim" (April 4, 2007).
  3. ^ a b c New York Times: “Muslim singer with a country twang” by Neil McFarquhar (November 13, 2007)
  4. ^ US Embassy in France site: Diverse audience enjoys Embassy program with country western singer Kareem Salama
  5. ^ ABC News: Muslim-American Country Singer in Syria, Tours Middle East
  6. ^ Altmuslim: “There's Something Reverent About Country Music” by Shahed Amanullah, April 17, 2007
  7. ^ The WitWits official website
  8. ^ The WitWits Facebook site
  9. ^ Fox News interviews Kareem Salama
  10. ^ Kareem Salama on France 24
  11. ^ Part 1 of Kareem Salama interview in "From America" on ART Satellite television
  12. ^ Part 2 of Kareem Salama interview on ART Satellite television
  13. ^ Sky News interviews Kareem Salama
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