Cairo: Popular Egyptian singer Shaaban Abdel-Rehim passed away on Tuesday (December 3) at a hospital in Cairo after suffering health issues.
At the age of 62, the singer, who is widely known for the songs 'Habattal El-Sagayer' (I'll quit cigarettes) and 'Bakrah Israel' (I hate Israel), was active in recent months, performing in clubs and weddings and appearing in TV shows and video clips.
Despite his long experience of Arabic singing, since the 1980s, Abdel-Rehim focused on recycling a specific melody for which he gained huge fame in 2000, repeating it over and over and making it his signature style.
With most of his lyrics written by Islam Khalil, Abdel-Rehim often commented on trending news and events, with dozens of his songs marked with the word 'eih' in the chorus and ends with 'bas khalas' (that's it).
The popularity of his songs propelled him into acting in commercials, TV series and programmes and theatre plays, collaborating with many Egyptian and Arab stars.
Among his movies was Daoud Abdel-Sayed's acclaimed film "Mowaten W Mokhber W Haramy" (A Citizen, a Detective and a Thief) and Said Hamed's "Rasha Gare'a" (Dare to give), both in 2001, according to Ahram Online.