Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf (), most commonly known as Ahmed Gacayte (), was a famous Somali singer, songwriter and composer.
He hails from the
Habr Yunis
The Habar Yoonis (, full Nasab: '' Said ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the Garhajis . As descendants of Ismail bin Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Sheikh Isaaq, it ...
subdivision of
Garhajis
The Habr Garhajis also contemporarily known as the Garhajis (, , Full Nasab: ''Ismā'īl al Qadhi ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. They are the traditional holders of the ...
History
Ahmed Gacayte was born in 1948 in a neighbourhood called Xidigta near the riverbed of
Hargeisa
Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...
,
Somaliland
Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...
. He was the oldest of 10 sons and 3 daughters. He took the nickname of his father, Mohamed Yusuf "Gacayte".
In 1964, reporters from
Radio Hargeysa came to his school to scout for potential singing talent and eventually recruited Gacayte.
In 1965, Gacayte recorded his first song "Ahlan wa sahlan Daahir", which was broadcast on
Radio Hargeysa. In response, his father disowned him and kicked him out of his home.
Gacayte then started composing and writing more songs and plays like "Bood Xirsi" and "Siyar" with Amina Abdullahi, as well as composing songs for Khadra Dahir Cige.
He soon became famous throughout the Somali world, especially throughout present day Somaliland.
Personal life
Gacayte was never married and eventually he had 1 son died in 1988 in Hargeisa at the age of 40, at the height of the
Isaaq genocide.
Discography
* Inaan Weli Ku Jecelahay
* Ilaah Baa Deeq Baxshee
* Umaleey Jacayl
* Orod orod
* Sabaalo
* Dulmiga
* Siyar (with Amina Abdullahi)
* Bood Xirsi (with Amina Abdullahi)
* Ahlan wa sahlan Daahir
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gacayte, Ahmed
1948 births
1988 deaths
20th-century Somalian male singers