‘Her force was contagious:’ Peers honor Palestinian singer Rim Banna

Fellow artists and friends have paid tribute to Palestinian singer and activist Rim Banna. (KKV)

DUBAI: Fellow artists and friends have paid tribute to Palestinian singer and activist Rim Banna, who died on Saturday morning aged 51 after a long battle with breast cancer.
Syrian electronic music producer Hello Psychaleppo succinctly summed up the feelings of many with a simple Facebook post that read: “R.I.P. Rim Banna. You were a fighter. May we carry your voice within.”
47SOUL, the UK-based collective of four musicians of Palestinian origin, wrote on their Facebook page that Banna was “the Nazarene goddess of alternative Palestinian music.”
“She fought the occupation with her beautiful music, fought cancer with her smile, and even when medicine resulted in losing her voice, she wrote inspiring words for us every day,” they continued. “Rest in power. Your smile and sound shall live forever.”
“I have lost one of my favorite artists and one of my dearest friends,” Lebanese singer-songwriter Tania Saleh told Arab News, who was a label-mate of Banna’s on the Norwegian record label KKV.
“Rim was very special. She was one of the rare female songwriters from our region who actually studied music. Her music was written for a cause. The amount of passion she put into it came out naturally and honestly,” Saleh continued. “She was different and innovative. Always challenging the norm and embracing change.
“Her lyrics spoke about the free Palestine she dreamed about but never with a tint of lament, despair or hopelessness. Her force was contagious. She inspired positivity in her songs and personality. Her last artistic statement is a genius new album turning her medical files into sounds while reciting her poetry and turning this painful experience with her malady into beautiful art.”
KKV boss Erik Hillestad also spoke about Banna’s latest work in his Facebook tribute to the singer, describing it as “a visionary, energetic and poetic manifest of resistance,” adding “Your fight and your poems and the way you perform them will be an inspiration for new generations.”
Many people spoke of Banna’s inspirational courage, exemplified by how she dealt with her illness.
“Her last posts on social media from the hospital were full of humor and lightheartedness, challenging cancer with beauty.” Saleh said. “One of them — I’m translating from Arabic — was: ‘Life is beautiful, death is like history — just a fake tale.”