Raef (singer)
| Raef | |
|---|---|
| Native name | رائف حجاج |
| Birth name | Raef Haggag |
| Born |
August 8, 1982 Washington, D.C., United States |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | Awakening |
| Website | www |
Raef Haggag (Arabic: رائف حجاج ; born August 8, 1982) is an Egyptian American singer from Washington, D.C. He is a prominent American-Muslim songwriter whose songs are for American Muslims as well as the Muslim community around the world. He released his first album The Path produced by Awakening Records in June 2014.
Raef was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Maryland to parents who immigrated from Egypt to attend graduate school. From a young age, he often went fishing, kayaking, and camping with family and friends. Growing up, music had always been an important part of his life. Raef studied Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park and graduated in 2005. During college he sang tenor in a comedic a cappella group on campus. After graduating, Raef worked as a software engineer, developing security software for the . Shortly afterwards, Raef abruptly quit his computer programming job to work as full-time high school teacher from 2005–2013. He said: "I decided to switch careers from a software eng. to a high school teacher because I wanted to help others in a more direct way (and because it was pretty boring sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day)". Raef taught computer programming in Montgomery County Public Schools.
Teaching gave Raef more time to focus on songwriting, often performing at local coffee shops and busking at metro stations. He was introduced to the national stage after his trio rock band "Great Seneca" toured the United States of America as part of the "Voices for Change" initiative. Raef also joined the "Poetic Vision Tour"; a band of traveling musicians and poets catering to the American Muslim community. Raef did several Islamic covers of popular mainstream songs, attracting young listeners wanting a modern take on religious music
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