Munisa Rizayeva (Муниса Ризаева) is an Uzbek singer and actress. Rizayeva has been on the scene for some years, but her popularity has been picking up recently. She is seen as unique in the world of Uzbek pop, with an unusual voice and fashion style—she’s bringing the Uzbek pop scene in a new direction with original experimentation in pop. She’s sometimes even called the “Uzbek Lady Gaga.”
Rizayeva was born in 1986 in Tashkent, though she spent most of her childhood and young adulthood in the UK. She began singing around the age of six, fighting her parents’ strong objections that pushed for her to enter a quiet, practical profession. Her parents would not support her attending a conservatory, and she ended up attending the University of Westminster in London, where she studied business. She also was able to attend a London conservatory. But she wasn’t able to make headway in her musical career in the UK, so she moved back to Uzbekistan in 2010.
She has been more serious about her musical career since 2011, writing and recording more songs from that point on. Her first album appeared in 2012, and over the next few years she expanded her popularity in various countries of the region, most notably Kazakhstan. She just recently released her second album, Heart (Yurak), in 2016. She has a number of music videos and has worked with Uzbekistan’s best-known music video producer, Timur Primkulov.
Rizayeva also works as an actress: she has appeared in eight films to date and played the lead in two, 2012’s Hey, Hey, Girl (Hay hay qizaloq) and 2014’s Hello, Natasha (Salom Natasha).
As is often the case with artists who push boundaries and experiment, Rizayeva has come up against resistance. In 2017, conservative Uzbekistan passed a tighter law on what music can be released publically, including online. The law specifically says that artists must conform to the country’s “age-old spiritual and cultural values and national traditions.” One song to be immidiately singled out by the censorship board was Rizayeva’s “Sacramento” (“Sakramento“) which mixes Uzbek and Spanish lyrics and musical stylings. In September of 2018, she again ran afoul of state censors for her song “Love My Blame” (“Aybim sevganim“), which was accused of showing a woman accepting what were considered the inappropriate advances of a man. Although banned from TV, these songs’ popularity seems to have picked up online, however, and Rizayeva appears unrepentant as she continues to produce more music.
Find Munisa Rizayeva on Amazon
“Lights” (“Yonar”), one of Rizayeva’s big hits:
Lyrics for “Yonar”:
Xafa bo’lma yoningda bo’lolmasam,
Aytgan joyimga agar vaqtida kelolmasam.
O, va’da berma vaqtida kelolmasang,
Nahot ogohlantirib qo’ng’iroq qilolmasang?
Sen meni keragim borim, (jonginam)
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Sen meni keragim borim,
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Gaplarim bor, uni aytishim kerak,
Seni ko’rishim uchun ertaroq turish kerak.
Hou, sen uchun tong boshlanar botib quyosh,
Hou, bilgin mendan o’zgasi berolmas senga bardosh.
Sen meni keragim borim, (jonginam)
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Sen meni keragim borim,
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Qaysarliklaringni qo’y, bilasanku sevaman, jonim,
Bu safar ham kechirmay qayga boraman?
Rahmat, yuborgan gullaring uchun, jonim.
Sen meni keragim borim, (jonginam)
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Sen meni keragim borim,
Sen meni keragim, jonim o’zing.
Sen mening keragim qo’shiq matni
“Impressed” (“Lol qolaman”), one of Rizayeva’s newer songs:
Lyrics for “Lol qolaman”:
Shu yigit sabriga man
Besh ketaman , hayronaman , yora ,
Sirin etmaydi oshkora. ( ey voh-ey, voh-ey)
Shu yigit sabriga man
Lol qolaman, mastonaman, yora,
Sevgisin etmas izhora .
Bir sado yo ‘q, kutib adoman,
Yurakda savoling yo ‘q .
Ozori bor, ayladi oqib falakdan,
Halovat yo ‘ q.
Lol qolaman, lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga.
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
Lol qolaman, lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga.
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
Aha- aha – ahasi, voha- voha- vohasi ,
Aha- aha – ahasi- ey , voha- voha- vohasi .
Aha- aha – ahasi, voha- voha- vohasi ,
Aha- aha – ahasi- ey , voha- voha- vohasi .
Go‘zal, hur chiroyimdan
Oy andoza olgandir,
Necha- necha ishqimda ( voy bo ‘y )
Ortimdan zor qolgandir.
Lekin ular ichida san
Bitta o‘zing yagona,
Yuragingga yo ‘ lolmasin,
Yo ‘qlatmasin begona.
Xaridorlarim ichida san
Bitta o‘zing yagona,
Yuragingga yo ‘ lolmasin,
Yo ‘qlatmasin begona.
Lol qolaman , lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga .
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
Lol qolaman, lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga.
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
Lol qolaman, lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga.
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
Lol qolaman , lol qolaman
Shu yigit sabriga .
Zor yonaman, zor yonaman
Otashining ishqiga.
