Razia Said (born December 1, 1959) is a singer, songwriter and an environmental activist from

Antalaha Antalaha is an urban municipality in northern Madagascar. It belongs to the Districts of Madagascar, district of Antalaha District, Antalaha, which is a part of Sava Region. The population of Antalaha was 67.888 in 2018. Farming provides employm ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Career

Razia's music draws elements from

Malagasy music The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, Portugal, England, France and the United States over time as indigenous people, immigrants, and coloni ...

and

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

. She began incorporating features of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and R&B to her music after visiting New York in 1987. In 2006, Razia recorded her album ''Magical'' after relocating to New York. During her subsequent visits to Madagascar, she met Njava, one of the country's prominent musical groups. Inspired by her experiences in Madagascar, Razia began writing and recording songs in the

Malagasy language Malagasy ( ; ; Sorabe: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and dialect continuum spoken in Madagascar. The standard variety, called Official Malagasy, is one of the official languages of Madagascar, alongside French language, F ...

,incorporating traditional sounds and melodies from her childhood. Razia's music often focuses on environmental issues, particularly the protection and preservation of Madagascar's natural environment. She addresses the impacts of climate change and deforestation through her songs. According to an article in ''

Broadway World BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

'' her album ''The Road'' features "a warm, welcoming set of songs that take us deep into the emotional reality of Razia's self-made, globe-spanning life."

Discography

* Magical (2006) * Zebu Nation (2010) * Akory (2015) * The Road (2018)

Career

Discography

References

Further reading