Hamed Sinno
Hamed Sinno is a Lebanese-American musician and writer. They were the lead singer of the alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila until the group disbanded in 2022.
Early life and education
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. They have American citizenship.Sinno grew up in an Anglophone household. They attended the American Community School of Beirut and graduated "not knowing how to properly speak Arabic", mostly learning Arabic as they wrote songs. Sinno did not learn to read music nor did they have formal musical training. However, they sang in the school choir.
While studying at the American University of Beirut, Sinno came out. There Sinno also began to experiment with subversive graffiti as a form of self-expression before getting involved with Mashrou' Leila.
Career
Sinno co-founded Mashrou' Leila in 2008 while studying graphic design at the American University of Beirut, when responding to an open jam session call put out by Andre Chedid, Omaya Malaeb, and Haig Papazian.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.
After Mashrou' Leila disbanded, Sinno earned an MA in Digital musics from Dartmouth College.
In the media
Sinno has been featured on the cover of several magazines, including France's Têtu, Jordan's My.Kali, and UK-based Attitude. They also appeared on the cover of the Middle East edition of Rolling Stone magazine as part of Mashrou' Leila.Sinno figured in a painting by the Iranian artist Alireza Shojaian dubbed Hamed Sinno et un de ses. 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. 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. 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, who subsequently took her own life while self-exiled in Canada after having experienced traumatic incarceration and mistreatment in Egypt. Shojaian paid tribute to Hegazi in a 2020 interview. He was arrested in 2024 for throwing artificial blood during a Pride Demonstration with activists from Queers for Palestine.
Works
With Mashrou' Leila
Mashrou' Leila El Hal Romancy Raasük Ibn El Leil- ''The Beirut School''
Solo music
Poems of Consumption, "a song cycle built on poetry published in Amazon customer reviews" which debuted at the Barbican Theater in London in July 2023Westerly Breath, a full-length opera developed at The Industry Los Angeles which debuted at the Met Museum in New York City in January 2024Writing
Essays by Sinno have appeared in the following books:This Arab Is Queer, edited by Elias JahshanThe Queer Arab Glossary, edited by Marwan KaabourPersonal life
Sinno is gay and non-binary, and advocates for LGBT rights in the Middle East and around the world. They lectured at and graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Sinno uses they/them, she/her, and he/him pronouns.According to a September 2024 Instagram story, Sinno has ADHD.