Kareem Salama

Kareem Salama (in Arabic كريم سلامة), is an Egyptian American musician (born in Ponca City, Oklahoma in 1978). He is known as the first American Muslim country music singer. His music is a hybrid of country, pop and rock music. He has released 2 albums Generous Peace and This Life of Mine and a third is under preparation for release in 2011 on LightRain Records.

Career

Salama has performed in front of wide audiences as far as Rome and London. He also took part in a State Department European concert tour, performing in Paris. He has been featured in major media outlets like the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Readers' Digest, Fox News, Sky News and France 24. Salama was also invited to dinner at the White House where he met President Barack Obama who said to Salama "You can sing!". In October 2008, he also performed during the Global Peace and Unity (GPU) event.

After the success of the first two self-released albums Generous Peace and This Life of Mine, Salama is now working on his first mainstream worldwide release during 2011 through LightRain Records to which he is signed. Kareem continues to work with friend and producer Aristotle Mihalopoulos as well as producers Rich Whiting and Dan Workman (whose credits include artists such as Beyonce and Clay Walker).

"Generous Peace EP" is his debut single, with fully remastered version of the original recording from the album. The main track in English is seconded by a blingual English / Arabic rendition with additional refrain in Arabic.

Salama also embarked on a Middle East tour in summer 2010. visiting Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. Upon his return, he has released two music videos, the promotional "Makes Me Crazy" and the official release "Be Free Now" featuring Kelley Peters.

Influences

With his parent’s encouragement and financial assistance, both American-trained engineers, Salama began recording his first album while in law school with Greek-American producer, Aristotle Mihalopoulos. Salama says of Mihalopoulos: "Initially, Aristotle and I met for the sole purpose of making music but his friendship has become more valuable to me than any material success I may find in the music world. The bond I made with Aristotle and his family confirmed that good comes from listening to the good inspiration in my heart; even it is not the good you may have set out to reach."

Salama was born and raised in a small town at the edge of Green Country in Oklahoma. When talking about his birthplace Salama says:

Oklahoma, like me, is a place where cultures meet and dance. Oklahoma is a hybrid of Southern, Western and Native American culture and thanks to my mother’s insatiable desire to learn and experience all of it she made sure that I was immersed in all of it.

As a child, I went to Indian tribal powwows, heard country music artists at the county fair and watched my favorite cowboys at the rodeo every year. My mother would take us to nearby western Arkansas just to watch an outdoor play in an amphitheater. My parents would take us to Branson, Missouri in the summertime where we’d watch live shows, listen to bluegrass music and make wax candles like it was done in the old times. They even took us to Opryland and the famous Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee.

He has memorized classical western poetry and classical Arabic poetry. He enjoys boxing and riding horses. But perhaps most interestingly this son of Egyptian immigrants is a singer/songwriter with a country and pop flare. When asked about his interest in things that seem opposite Salama says:

In the traditional world, philosophers knew that to understand one thing you needed to understand everything; in other words things are connected. At times things only seem incompatible because our information is incomplete or our perception is flawed. For example one might think that boxing has no relation to horse back riding. But just as a horse’s power must be tamed a fighter must learn to tame his ego and his anger.

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.

Salama highlights universal themes about love, home and family values. His songs are spiritual, without being overtly religious. One inspired by the writings of an eighth-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.”

Discography

Albums

2006: Generous Peace

2007: This Life of Mine

Singles

2010: "Generous Peace" (EP)

Tracklist: #Generous Peace #Generous Peace (Pop Remix) #Generous Peace (Acoustic Remix) #When I Fall (Bonus track) #Generous Peace Arabic #Generous Peace Arabic (Pop Remix) #Generous Peace Arabic (Acoustic Remix) '''

Videography

Kareem Salama in popular culture

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:American musicians Category:American Muslims Category:American people of Arab descent Category:American people of Egyptian descent Category:Performers of Islamic music Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:People from Ponca City, Oklahoma Category:University of Iowa College of Law alumni