Hamed Sinno (Arabic: حامد سنّو; born April 25, 1988) is a Lebanese-American[1] musician and writer. They were the lead singer of the alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila until the group disbanded in 2022.[2][3]
Early life
Sinno was born to a Lebanese father who had lived in the United States and a Jordanian mother who had lived between Morocco and Rome.[4] They have American citizenship.[5]
Sinno grew up in an Anglophone household. They attended the American Community School of Beirut (ACS) and graduated "not knowing how to properly speak Arabic", mostly learning Arabic as they wrote songs.[4] Sinno did not learn to read music nor did they have formal musical training. However, they sang in the school choir.[5]
According to Sinno, their parents initially disapproved of their career in music, fearing for their financial prospects and physical safety due to the band's controversial reputation.[5]
Sinno has been featured on the cover of several magazines, including France's Têtu, Jordan's My.Kali, and UK-based Attitude.[9][10][11] They also appeared on the cover of the Middle East edition of Rolling Stone magazine as part of Mashrou' Leila.[12]
Hamed Sinno et un de ses fréres, a 2017 painting by Iranian artist and visual activist Alireza Shojaian.
Sinno figured in a painting by the Iranian artist Alireza Shojaian dubbed Hamed Sinno et un de ses fréres. In the painting Sinno is depicted pinching the nipple of Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of funerary rites. Anubis sports a rainbow colored Usekh collar alluding to the pride flag.[13][14] The work references and draws inspiration from a painting by an unknown painter, titled Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs, that depicts the mistress of Henry IV of France.[15][16] The collaboration with Sinno was a statement against systematic state-led persecution of LGBT minorities in Egypt. Shojaian painted the piece after the September 22, 2017, Mashrou' Leila concert in Cairo, during which the pride flag was flown. The Cairo pride flag incident resulted in the arrest of a number of concert-goers, including Sarah Hegazi,[13][14] who subsequently took her own life while self-exiled in Canada after having experienced traumatic incarceration and mistreatment in Egypt.[13] Shojaian paid tribute to Hegazi in a 2020 interview.[13]
Poems of Consumption (2023), "a song cycle built on poetry published in Amazon customer reviews"[17] which debuted at the Barbican Theater in London in July 2023
Westerly Breath (2024), a full-length opera developed at The Industry Los Angeles which debuted at the Met Museum in New York City in January 2024
Writing
Essays by Sinno have appeared in the following books:
