Banna was born in Nazareth, where she graduated from Nazareth Baptist School. She lived in Nazareth with her three children.
She died on 24 March 2018, aged 51, in a hospital in her hometown of Nazareth, Palestine following a lengthy and brave battle with breast cancer, which she openly shared with her numerous fans through social media. She met her husband, Ukrainian guitarist Leonid Alexeyenko, while studying music together at the Higher Music Conservatory in Moscow and they married in 1991, and divorced in 2010.
Banna first achieved popularity in the early 1990s, after recording her own versions of traditional Palestinian children's songs that were on the verge of being forgotten.
Banna also composed her own songs and set Palestinian poetry to music. Her message is often focused on the suffering of Palestinians. Her music is described as "haunting, emotional, at times bordering on kitsch." She described her music as a means of cultural self-assertion:
A part of our work consists of collecting traditional Palestinian texts without melodies. So that the texts do not get lost, we try to compose melodies for them that are modern, yet inspired by traditional Palestinian music.
In this way, Banna does more than mimic the traditional techniques and representations of the pieces she interprets. She blends them with modern singing styles because,
Oriental singing techniques are mostly ornamental… But my voice is more two-dimensional, thicker. I try to write songs that fit my voice. I want to create something new in every respect. And that includes bringing people elsewhere closer to the music and soul of the Palestinians.
She performed live in the West Bank and she reached audiences in Gaza through live webcasts. She performed her first concert in Syria on 8 January 2009 and also performed in Tunisia on 25 July 2011. Her first concert in Beirut took place on 22 March 2012.
Banna's popularity in Europe began after Norwegian music producer Erik Hillestad invited her to participate on the CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003) and Norwegian singer Kari Bremnes, who also took part on this production in a duet with Rim Banna, invited her to Oslo. Banna accepted the invitation, and the two artists did a show together.
The album, dubbed "a musical antiwar message to U.S. President Bush from female singers in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and Norway," brings these women together with others from North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Afghanistan, to sing traditional lullabies from their lands in duet form with English-language performers whose translation allows the songs to reach a Western audience.
The Mirrors of My Soul, which was dedicated to all the Palestinian and Arab political detainees in the Israeli prisons, is a stylistic departure from her previous body of work. Produced in cooperation with a Norwegean quintet, it features "Western pop styling" fused with Middle Eastern modal and vocal structures, and Arabic lyrics.
Although the style differs from previous recordings, the subject matter has basically remained constant. The album includes "songs of despair and hope" about the lives of "a struggling people, and even a song about late Palestinian leader and PA president Arafat in a way that is both thoughtful and subtle".
Discography
Jafra (1985)
Your tears Mother (1986)
The Dream (1993)
New Moon (1995)
Mukaghat (1996)
Al Quds Everlasting (2002)
Krybberom (2003) Rim Banna & SKRUK
Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003 – Various female artists)
The Mirrors of My Soul (2005, Valley Entertainment)
This was not my story (2006) Rim Banna & Henrik Koitz
Seasons of violet (2007)
Songs across Walls of Separation (2008 – Various artists from the Middle East, Africa, Central America, North America, and Europe)
April Blossoms (2009) an album for children, was dedicated to the children martyrs in Gaza
A Time to cry (2010), was recorded in one of the houses in Sheikh Jarrah under constant threat of eviction from the part of their house (with three Palestinian singers)
"Tomorrow" (Bokra) 2011, a single song of the American legend composer Quincy Jones, who chose Rim Banna to represent Palestine in this project which will be released in an Album and a video clip in September 2011
Revelation of Ecstasy and Rebellion (2013); produced by Bugge Wesseltoft
Songs from a Stolen Spring (2014, Valley Entertainment/Kirkelig Kulturverksted - Various Artists), featuring "Break Your Fears"
Nura
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
فأما الذى هو حب الهوى فشغلى بذكرك عمن سواكا
واما الذى انت أهل له فكشفك لى الحجب حتى أراكا
فلا الحمد فى ذا ولا ذاك لى ولكن لك الحمد فى ذا وذاكا
ولما علمت بأن قلبي فارغا ممن سواك ملأته بهواك
وملأت كلي منك حتى لم ادع منى مكانا خاليا لسواك
فالقلب فيه وغرامه والنطق لا ينفك عن ذكراك
والطرف حيث اجيله متلفتا في كل شئ يجتلي معناك
ولما علمت بأن قلبي فارغا ممن سواك ملأته بهواك
وملأت كلي منك حتى لم ادع منى مكانا خاليا لسواك
Seif_elkady
The song "Nura" by Rim Banna is a powerful expression of love, with lyrics that speak to the overwhelming nature of this emotion. The first verse describes the two different types of love the singer has for her beloved - one is the love of desire, while the other is a love that stems from the fact that her beloved is meant to be hers. She describes how her constant thoughts of her beloved occupy her mind, while the knowledge that her beloved is meant for her fills her heart with gratitude.
In the second verse, the singer reveals that she has filled her heart with love for her beloved, leaving no room for anyone else. She describes how her every glance is focused on her beloved, and how she can only hear the words of those who talk about her beloved. Her love for her beloved consumes her completely, leaving no space for any other feeling or emotion.
Overall, the lyrics of "Nura" express a deep and all-encompassing love, one that fills the heart and mind completely. The singer's words are poetic and emotional, conveying the overwhelming nature of this powerful emotion and the way it can consume a person's entire being.
Line by Line Meaning
احبك حبين. حب الهوى وحباً لأنك اهل لذاكا
I love you in two ways. The love of passion and the love because you deserve it.
فأما الذى هو حب الهوى فشغلى بذكرك عمن سواكا
As for the love of passion, it keeps me occupied with thoughts of you, ignoring everything else.
واما الذى انت أهل له فكشفك لى الحجب حتى أراكا
As for the love you deserve, it unveils the veils that hide you from me, so I can see you clearly.
فلا الحمد فى ذا ولا ذاك لى ولكن لك الحمد فى ذا وذاكا
Neither this nor that brings me any praise, but all praise belongs to you in this and that.
ولما علمت بأن قلبي فارغا ممن سواك ملأته بهواك
When I realized my heart was empty of anyone but you, I filled it with love for you.
وملأت كلي منك حتى لم ادع منى مكانا خاليا لسواك
I filled myself with thoughts of you so much that I left no space for anyone else.
فالقلب فيه وغرامه والنطق لا ينفك عن ذكراك
My heart and passion for you are inescapable, and my words always revolve around thoughts of you.
والطرف حيث اجيله متلفتا في كل شئ يجتلي معناك
My gaze always follows wherever you go, obsessing over every little thing related to you.
والسمع لا يصغي الي متكلم الا اذا ما حدثو بحلاااك
My hearing only tunes in to those who talk about you and your beauty.
Writer(s): Rim Banna
Contributed by Asher E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hisham
on Two Kinds of Love
I love you with two different kinds of love - the love of passion and of admiration
And I love you because you deserve both kinds of love
The first kind of love, which is the love of passion,
In this love, I am occupied with thoughts of you, and you alone
The second kind of love, which you are deserving of,
In this love, you reveal yourself to me so that I may see you clearly
I do not find happiness in one kind of love over the other
Rather, you are the one deserving of my gratitude for bringing both kinds of love to my life
And when I realized that my heart was empty
You filled it with love for you and pushed all other thoughts aside
You filled my entire being with your love,
Until there was no room left for anyone or anything other than you
So my heart is filled with passion and adoration for you
And I cannot stop speaking of you
Wherever I turn, my eyes are searching for you
Your essence encompasses every aspect of my being
And I cannot listen to anyone else
Unless they speak of you with the same admiration and love