-Musician-
Born July 19, 1932, Wardi was a Nubian Sudanese singer and songwriter. In 1953, Wardi went to Khartoum for the first time to attend a convention as a teaching representative for his area. He moved to Khartoum and started his career as a musical performer. In 1957, Omdurman Radio chose him to record and sing on national broadcast in an arena with legendary singers such as Abdelaziz Mohamed Dauod, Hassan Atia, Ahmed Almustafa, Osman Hussaein and Ibrahim Awad. Wardi recorded 17 songs in his first year. A committee formed by Omdurman Radio’s president that included top singers and songwriters such as AlKashif, Osman Hussaein and Ahmed Almustafa promoted Wardi to highest level as a professional singer. He had a bilateral with a famous poet, Ismail Hassan, resulting in more than 23 song.
Wardi performs using a variety of instruments including the Nubian Tanbur and sings in both Arabic and Nubian languages.Described as Africa’s top singer, he has millions of fans mainly in the Horn of Africa.His songs address topics such as romance, passion, Nubian folklore and heritage, revolution and patriotism with some of his political songs resulting in him being jailed. After the introduction of Sharia in 1989, he left Sudan to voluntary exile in Cairo but returned in 2003. The artist was granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Khartoum in 2005 in recognition of his career for more than 60 years and his performance of more than 300 song. He died on February 18, 2012 at the age of 80 because of kidney complications.