Born in Mogadishu, Somali and raised in Manchester via Denmark, rapper HMD (pronounced: 'Hamdi') has always been a contemplative artist, drawing on his faith, heritage and family for influence. We've featured HMD in the past—2017's "Baranoid" was an incisive and soulful rap cut that's still worth revisiting—and now he's back with another outing and that soulful introspection is even more pronounced here. New single "DEEN" (Arabic for 'faith') isn't quite as dark as some previous efforts, bringing in more melodic elements to counter the tough, trappy beats. Equally, his flow is more soulful this time, erasing the boundaries between rapping and singing as he speaks on his faith as well as some of the struggles he's had to overcome to make it this far.
"I created 'DEEN' during a turbulent time in my life. it represents focus, energy and speaking your truth. Being on your 'DEEN' is a phrase used commonly between me and the family of people around me. The video attests to that, my Somalian heritage and how they manifest itself in my music."
It's been a little while since his incendiary W16NTER project, but hopefully this thoughtfully crafted new single means more new music, maybe even a full length project, might be just around the corner.
