Samatar was born to an artistic family in
Dinsoor,
Somalia in 1953. He grew up in
Baidoa, where he attended primary and elementary schools. He subsequently relocated to
Mogadishu, the nation's capital, and began his secondary education. Samatar's involvement with music began at a very early age, with him first taking up singing during childhood. He later started to play the guitar. While most of Samatar's songs have been in Standard
Somali, many of his early tunes were in the
Maay dialect. His first mainstream song was "Haddaad diido hadalkayga" in 1974. After graduating from high school, Samatar planned on attending university in Italy. However, at the behest of friends, he decided to first take part in the 1971 edition of
Heesaha Hirgalay, a talent show competition that was at the time Somalia's equivalent of
American Idol. Samatar wound up winning the entire contest. He was shortly afterwards inducted into
Waaberi, the premier Somali musical ensemble, and emerged as a leader in the local music and theater scenes. ==Theater==