Arab America Interviews Rising Vocalist, Issam Al-Najjar
By Noura Abou Hamze/ Arab America Contributing Writer
Issam Al Najjar is an 18-year-old rising singer who is originally from Jaffa, Palestine. He was born in Jordan and grew up there. His family has been living in Jordan for more than 18 years. Issam’s father grew up in Kuwait and his mom grew up in Lebanon. His family and friends have been supporting him since day one. Growing up in Jordan was pretty good for Issam as he lived a normal life and had a very good childhood, he says. Al Najjar wants to be a full-time artist ten years from now, and this commitment shows his determination. The interview done with vocalist Issam Al Najjar was a question and answer interview where Arab America got to know him more and learn about his fantastic journey.
Issam’s song ‘Ha Dal Ahebek’ that translates to ‘I Will Keep Loving You’ is currently making history. This song has a very unique beat that gives the listener so much energy and positivity. Issam’s song blew up immediately. Before the release of his song, he only used to come up with covers for songs on social media. He then came up with “Ha Dal Ahebek” with his friend, posted it online, and people liked it so much. Also, a few months later when he recorded it, Issam says “it just happened naturally.” He wrote the song with two people Loay Hejezin and Sara Shalabi and then Loay produced it. Issam mentions that they did not expect people would like it and that it would reach 100K viewers in one week and 75 million viewers in a few months!
Issam Al Najjar says that he did something very important by opening the world up to Arab songs globally and this was his main goal. He told Arab America that he got in contact with SAL, CEO of SalxCo, a prolific manager in the music industry. Issam was very happy and proud as he said that SalxCo opened a new label, Universal Arabic Music, a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Republic Records. and he was the first and only artist to be signed to that label! He is currently working on an album with them which is almost done. Al Najjar is very excited to drop it very soon. However, he did not mention the specific date of release yet.
When asked how did his Arabic heritage influence his music genre, Issam answered that in Jordan there are artists who he started listening to their music a while ago. They were the ones who attracted him to go into music. Al Najjar mentions that Massari was one of the singers who influenced him as a kid. He said that he grew up listening to a lot of music and that helped him in creating the music he likes. His type of music is different than the usual Arabic ones that we listen to, it has a very unique beat and rhythm, and this is what he is working on right now to continue doing. When asked about which type of music he likes to listen to, Al Najjar said ‘Wael Kfoury and Nancy Ajram’ from the Arab World. Michael Jackson, the Weekend, Ed Sheeran, and Justin Bieber from the Western side.
Arab America also asked Issam what kind of advice would he like to give the young Arab generation. Issam said: “I like to use my platform as an inspiration to people to do what they love.” Also, “what I did was very easy and I believe that many people have talented backgrounds and styles and are only one step away from changing their entire lives.” He says: “Never Give Up and always have hope.” Najjar wants everybody to see that Arab singers have the ability to make the world listen to Arab music. The music that he will sing later isn’t 100% traditional but his songs will include some Arab culture in them.
On the other side, Issam Al Najjar is a very determined person who wants to continue his academic studies and earn a degree. He is on pause right now from his last year in High School as he is currently working on the album that is soon to be released. Arab America asked Issam about his strong English language skills. He answered: “It comes not only from studying at school, but from listening to music and watching movies.” Not only that, but his family has been to the United States and his brother was born here.
Issam was surprised and was very happy when Ali Gatie approached him on Instagram to revisit his song. Al Najjar was one of Ali’s listeners and did not expect that he would reach out to him. “We are now good friends,” he says. Finally, when he was asked if he would like to sing in English Issam said: “No one knows that I sang in English with Ali Gatie during the remix of my song.”
To learn more about Issam Al Najjar’s song statistics , viewers, and cooperation with Ali Gatie check our other article here!
We wish Al Najjar all the luck in his future endeavors and we are all so proud of him!
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