CWM: How did working with El Warsha help develop your music?
DW: When I was in college I used to compose songs for myself and give them to friends in the underground scene who would take them out to the public. When I started working with El Warsha, it opened a lot of doors to artistic outlets. In El Warsha, you get to sing, dance, act, and learn a lot about traditional culture. It is also very intense in that you have rehearsals every day and are therefore forced to take everything very seriously. I spent a total of three years with them honing my skills. I focused most of my time on the stage, which allowed me to discover my love for music.
How would you describe your music?
I don’ t like the idea of classifications or genres, because it limits me to a particular style and I feel that as I continue to develop and change my music could become very different. It’ s also not my job to determine what kind of music I am producing. I just produce it! If you want to know what style I am singing you should ask a critic or a specialist who classifies music and can tell me who I am at this point!
For your D-CAF performance, you performed on the same stage as Umm Kalthoum. How has this experience been for you?
I was very excited and even scared about performing in this place. It is an awesome idea because in our society today we are always looking for new, modern places to visit and venues to perform in which disconnects us from our history. But to see a place like Qasr El Nil, where so many famous voices have been, the soul and spirit of the place itself is so powerful that it completely changed the experience.
When I first agreed to perform and they told me that it would be at the Qasr El Nil Theatre I was actually afraid. This is not only an important place historically but is also [ a performance ] for 1,000 people, that is massive! However, as soon as I got on stage I saw the crowds of people who had come from afar to see me and immediately felt that this was amazing. I really love Egyptian audiences; it seems that they are one of the few in the world that can warm a place up and let us just have fun with the music.
The famous Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil chose to mentor you. How did this happen?
Rolex, in addition to their business, also have a number of projects where they support emerging artists around the world. I found out that I had been nominated for the program and went to perform in front of the selection committee where Gilberto was. I had no idea that he was going to be there. He saw me perform and chose me as his student to mentor. Since then I have toured with him in the United States and spent a lot of time with him as my mentor.
What does Gilberto Gil provide as a mentor?
Dina El Wedidi on stage
This is not a technical mentorship like where he is going to help develop my talent, but most importantly it is developing a personal relationship and he makes me stronger as a person. You sometimes just need somebody there to support you while you are trying to find out what to do in your life and he has done that for me. Also, when I toured with him it opened my eyes to a whole other world of people, ideas, and styles that I had never experienced before. Any type of travel will do this to a person; so to have it in my field with one of the top singers in the world was truly amazing.
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