Seniman Kota

With over half the world’s population living in urban communities, the voice of the urban citizen is getting louder. However, while city councils and authority figures are increasingly taking stock of what city dwellers are saying, certain quarters within the community are empowering themselves in making their cities better places to live in.

Hady Afro, homegrown guitarist, musical director, lecturer and founder of the Hady Afro Music Academy is one such individual. Having enriched his life with music, Hady has made it a mission to make music accessible to residents of his homeground, Kuala Lumpur. In this interview, Hady breaks down the culture of inner city kids and tells us why it’s important to make music accessible to kids in the inner city.

Hady and his trio were also a part of Arts on the Move, an initiative supported by Citi Foundation and Prasarana in collaboration with Think City, where performances and art installations were programmed within one of the busiest train stations in Kuala Lumpur, Masjid Jamek, offering relief and entertainment to commuters.

Sheikh Hady Basmeih aka Hady Afro is a classical musician who draws inspiration from the great masters such as Andres Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream and Luis Salinas. So far, he has performed at the People to People International 2011 in Korea, UNESCO World Heritage Committee 2011 in France and at the Russia International Guitar Festival and Competition 2013/2014 in Russia.

Hady and his trio perform at most of the major music venues in Kuala Lumpur, including the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra auditorium, and also around the region, such as at The Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. He is the founder of the Hady Afro Music Academy.