Although Tal’aat was born in Alexandria he was raised in Cairo. His grandfather was an officer in the Egyptian army during the reign of King Fouad and was the governor-general of the town of Port Sudan. Whilst there his grandfather married a Sudanese woman. Zein began his career as a musician in a group called “Qittat Sagheera” (“Miniature Cats”) but later transferred to singing. He first rose to fame when he