Zein Sajdi (; born 15 December 1997), known as Zeyne, is a Palestinian-Jordanian singer, songwriter, musician and producer.

Early life and education

Sajdi was born and raised in a

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan, the youngest child in a

Palestinian-Jordanian Palestinians in Jordan refers mainly to those with Palestinian refugee status currently residing there. Sometimes the definition includes Jordanian citizens with full Palestinian origin. Most Palestinian ancestors came to Jordan as Palestinian ...

family (her grandparents hailing from

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

) with a passion for music and danceher father is a collector of music records, her mother is an amateur singer who managed a

dabke ''Dabke'' ( also spelled ''dabka'', ''dabki'', ''dubki'', ''dabkeh'', plural ''dabkaat'') is a Levantine folk dance, particularly popular among Lebanese, Jordanian, Palestinian, and Syrian communities. Dabke combines circle dance and line da ...

troupe for over twenty years, and her oldest sister Lina is a pianist. She joined a dabke group at the age of five, started taking piano lessons from a Russian teacher at six, and was introduced to classical singing a few years later by a Japanese teacher. She pursued a degree in Media Communications and Sociology at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

Career

After graduating in 2020, Sajdi briefly returned to Amman in order to prepare to move to London, where she had accepted a job offer at a public relations firm. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, however, she was unable to travel outside the country and started an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account where she posted song covers. The page garnered significant following in a short time and, after joining the Jordanian Female Artist Collective, Sajdi was invited to perform at the Amman Jazz Festival. She came acquainted with fellow musician Hana Malhas and producer Nasir Al Bashir, and the founders of Keife Records offered her a record deal shortly after. Encouraged by Al Bashir, she bagan composing her own songs. Her debut single "Minni Ana", featuring mixed English and Arabic lyrics, was released in March 2021, shortly followed by "Nostalgia". After releasing her single "Atoul", Sajdi collaborated with Palestinian artist

Saint Levant Marwan Abdelhamid (; born October 6, 2000), known professionally as Saint Levant (; ), is a Palestinian singer-songwriter and rapper. A multilingual artist, he is best known for his song "Very Few Friends". Early life and education Abdelham ...

on the July 2022 single "Balak". Sajdi has gone on to write music for other artists, including "Min Gheirik Inti" for

Issam Alnajjar Issam Alnajjar (; born 12 May 2003) is a Palestinian-Jordanian musician. He is most notable for his debut single "Hadal Ahbek", which went viral on TikTok. He was the first artist to sign with Universal Arabic Music. His debut studio album, ''B ...

's 2023 debut EP ''Waray'', and other songs for

Elyanna Elian Amer Marjieh (sometimes credited as Margieh; ; born January 22, 2002), known professionally as Elyanna (), is a Palestinian and Chilean singer-songwriter, merging Arabic music with Latin rhythms to create an experimental Arab-pop sound th ...

and

Massari Sari Abboud (; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari ( ), is a Lebanese-Canadian singer and songwriter. He began his career in the early 2000s and went on to release two contemporary R&B, R&B albums, ''Massari (album), Ma ...

. In the same period, she released the single "Ana Wein", co-written with Al Bashir and Lina Makoul. In October 2023, in response to the

Gaza genocide According to a United Nations Special Committee, Amnesty International, and other experts, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza against the Palestinian people during its ongoing invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip as part of the Gaza w ...

amid the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, 25 Middle Eastern and North African artists, including Sajdi, collaborated on the charity single " Rajieen". Sajdi then released the love song "Ma Bansak" in February 2024 before writing "Bali", released in June 2024 and recounting her mental state during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In November 2024, Sajdi released the double single "7arrir 3aqlak / Asli Ana", with the latter track being an R&B song set to the rhythm of traditional

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ine folk dance

; the accompanying music video features Sajdi herself dancing alongside professional dabke dancers.

Artistry

Sajdi's musical style has been described as "

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

", incorporating elements of

Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...

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 ...

(including

South African jazz South Africa has a notable jazz scene. History The jazz scene in South Africa grew much as it did in the United States. Through performances in nightclubs, dances, and other venues, musicians had the opportunity to play music often. Musicians su ...

), R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

Albanian folk music The music of Albania () is associated with the country of Albania and Albanian diaspora, Albanian communities. Music has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the Ghegs in the North to the Tosks in the Sou ...

as well as drawing inspiration from the work of artists like

Ziad Rahbani Ziad Rahbani (, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the founders of modern Arabic music ...

Elias Rahbani Elias Hanna Al Rahbani (; 26 June 1938 – 4 January 2021) was a Lebanese musician, composer, songwriter, orchestra conductor, and reality television personality, sitting as judge on a number of talent shows. He composed more than 2,500 songs, ...

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie Haddad (, ; born November 20, 1934 or November 21, 1935), known as Fairuz (, ), is a Lebanese singer. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is pop ...

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her" and standing for "Having Everything Revealed") is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. She has won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Child ...

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

Manal Manal was an Argentine rock group formed in 1968. Together with Almendra and Los Gatos, they are considered founders of Argentine rock. The band members were Claudio Gabis on guitar, Javier Martínez on drums and vocals, and Alejandro Med ...

Angèle Angèle is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Angèle (singer) (born Angèle Van Laeken, 1995), Belgian singer *Angele Anang, Thai drag queen *Angèle Dola Akofa Aguigah (born 1955), Togolese archaeologist *Angèle Arsenault ...

and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

, in addition to Palestinian poet

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...

Discography

Singles

* "Minni Ana" – 2021 * "Yamma Mweil il Hawa" – 2021 * "Nostalgia" – 2021 * "Bala Wa Shi" – 2021 * "Atoul" – 2022 * "Atoul (Gruzzman Remix)" – 2022 * "Atoul (AudiobySamuel Remix)" – 2022 * "Balak" (ft.

) – 2022 * "Ana Wein" – 2023 * "Mish Asfeh" – 2023 * "Wala Forsa" – 2023 * " Rajieen" (as part of a collective) – 2023 * "Ma Bansak" – 2024 * "Ma Bansak – A Colors Show" – 2024 * "Bali" – 2024 * "Gooodbye" – 2024 * "Lonely Nights" – 2024 * "Mesh Haseebek" (Bayou ft. Zeyne) – 2024 * "7arrir 3aqlak / Asli Ana" – 2024 * "Rajawi Falasteeni (Ma Nisma7 Feek Ya Gaza)" – 2025

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeyne 1997 births Living people Jordanian people of Palestinian descent Jordanian women singers People from Amman Alumni of the University of Sussex Arabic-language singers of Jordan English-language singers Women singer-songwriters Women record producers Contemporary R&B singers Instagram people Dabke dancers