Kurdish born singer-songwriter, NOURI’s journey began in a Syrian refugee camp, where she was born and lived until the age of three. Fast forward to today and her hit worship song, Change In Your Name has been making waves on the gospel charts, achieving over 350,000 organic creations on TikTok and racking up over 2 million streams. The pop and r&b artist reflects on her journey from refugee camp to a rising star that’s making worship music cool.
You are Kurdish born and your journey began in a Syrian refugee camp, where you were born and lived until the age of three. What are your memories of that time?
When my mum tells us stories, you get glimpses, because I was so young, so it's hard to remember. But when she tells these stories, I remember them vividly, like playing with rocks and ants, because I thought they were so cool. I still do, to be honest!
My mum would tell me stories of when she had to go fetch water, and I would want to go with her. I was the troubled kid that always wanted to do something, and I guess there's nothing to do over there, so I'd be going to fetch water. That was a thing.
I know it was a struggle, but we didn't know it was a struggle, because my mum didn't make it seem that way. She really made it. She always has done that. She made it feel like we've always had everything. So we never really felt like we missed out on anything.
Is Dubai where you call home these days?
Yes. I've always loved Dubai. I've spent some time here, and I knew I wanted to come back. There's more opportunities, because I was in New Zealand before here, and it's a bit far away from everything, so I wanted to be a bit closer to civilisation.