Biography

Raden Haji Oma Irama (born December 11, 1946, in Tasikmalaya, West Java), known as Rhoma Irama, is an Indonesian dangdut musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Starting from the late 1960's, he began his musical career as Oma Irama as a part of the pop band Orkes Melayu Purnama, pioneering several dangdut music elements. He then formed his band Soneta Group, achieving multitudes of musical successes with groundbreaking dangdut style which incorporates Western, Malay, and Bollywood influences. From the late 1970s, he began transforming into more Islamic-oriented style, commanding the religiously pious popular music culture. During the height of his stardom in the 1970s, he was dubbed "Raja Dangdut" ("the King of Dangdut") with his Soneta Group.