Hussam Al-Rassam

Hussam Al-Rassam

Hussam Al Rassam (Arabic,حسام الرسام) (born 29 March 1978 in Hilla, Iraq) is an Iraqi singer who has become a known singer post the 2003 Iraq war. He is credited for being the first Iraqi singer to debut in the post Saddam Hussein era.

He started his career as a singer fairly young but did not have much success until later in life with his album Al Agrobah (The Scorpion). After a successful single, he started to sing for free in the hunting club to gain popularity, and rumors indicates that he was singing in parties held by wives of senior Iraqi officials and figures especially Sajida Talfah the first wife of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Al-Rassam joined forces with Abbas Chechan, a popular Iraqi poet, and recorded new singles based on Chechan's poems. One such single was made by Al Rassam featuring three other Iraqi singers for the Iraq national football team, Jeeb El Kass which in English means bring the trophy/cup. It became the official song for the team and was played when Iraq won the 2007 Asian Cup.

Al Rassam continued working with various poets including Chechan, and recorded songs about the situation in Iraq, which allowed him to gain national attention in Iraq and with Iraqis abroad with songs like "Mo Galow" ("So They Said") and "Endee Watan" ("I have a nation").

He has toured in Australia and various countries in the Middle East, and in December 2007, he toured the United States.

He has recently been doing concerts in popular places where Iraqis live such as Michigan and San Diego. He is scheduled to perform in San Diego at the Royal Palace near the end of November.