| Ahmed Gacayte | |
| Birth Place: | Hargeisa, British Somaliland |
| Birth Name: | Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf |
| Birth Date: | 1948 |
| Native Name: | Axmed Gacayte |
| Native Name Lang: | so |
| Death Place: | Hargeisa, Somalia |
| Instruments: | Singing |
| Genre: | Somali music |
| Occupation: | Musician, artist |
| Years Active: | 1965–1988 |
Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf, most commonly known as Ahmed Gacayte, was a famous Somali singer, songwriter and composer.[1] [2] [3] He hails from the Habr Yunis subdivision of Garhajis
Ahmed Gacayte was born in 1948 in a neighbourhood called Xidigta near the riverbed of Hargeisa, Somaliland. He was the oldest of 10 sons and 3 daughters. He took the nickname of his father, Mohamed Yusuf "Gacayte".
In 1964, reporters from Radio Hargeysa came to his school to scout for potential singing talent and eventually recruited Gacayte.
In 1965, Gacayte recorded his first song "Ahlan wa sahlan Daahir", which was broadcast on Radio Hargeysa. In response, his father disowned him and kicked him out of his home.[4]
Gacayte then started composing and writing more songs and plays like "Bood Xirsi" and "Siyar" with Amina Abdullahi,[5] [6] as well as composing songs for Khadra Dahir Cige. He soon became famous throughout the Somali world, especially throughout present day Somaliland.
Gacayte was never married and eventually died in 1988 in Hargeisa at the age of 40, at the height of the Isaaq genocide.[7]