7 Arab Hip-Hop Artists You Need To Know (2021 Edition)

The influence of the Middle East on global culture is becoming increasingly apparent. Here, a scene report by Egyptian-born culture writer Alya Mooro.

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Image via Sammy Ray Nelson

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Thanks in part to globalisation and technology, hip-hop has reached all corners of the world and become increasingly diverse internationally. For those in the Middle East—a region and a people who have a long history of oral storytelling and increasingly more to speak for and against—the hip-hop movement is a rapidly growing one. 

Amassing fans and garnering views in the millions—both in their own countries and across the world—Arab hip-hop artists fuse the bravado and grit of rap with uniquely Arab elements in order to craft their own hybrid creations. To that end, regional streaming giant Anghami recently shared stats that found that overall streams of Arabic hip-hop have been rising steadily over the last year, and that ‘Arabic Hip-Hop’ was the third highest trending ‘vibe’ on the platform in 2019.

The influence of the Middle East on global culture is also increasingly apparent. We need only look to Drake’s “Only You Freestyle” with Headie One, in which he took to Arab to rap: “Arabic ting told me I look like Youssef, look like Hamza / Habibti please, ana akeed, inti w ana ahla”—which roughly translates to: “My love, please, I’m sure you and I are better.” Following the release of that track, many Googled what the Arabic meant while Arabs, like me, excitedly took pleasure in the representation, all the while chuckling at the many, many memes taking aim at his (terrible) mispronunciation. 

As an Egyptian-born, London-raised hip-hop fan, who started my career writing predominantly about hip-hop, seeing the meshing of the cultures that raised me makes me very happy indeed. Here are 7 Middle Eastern hip-hop artists you need to know today.  


 

Felukah

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Currently residing in New York City as she studies for a degree in Creative Writing, Cairo-born Felukah has been making waves with her bossed-up delivery and poignant bars. Emerging on the scene in 2018 with her debut EP, Yansoon, the rapper—born Sara El Messiry—has since released two albums, the most recent of which, Dream 23, dropped last summer. Adept at switching from English to Arabic mid-sentence, the 22-year-old’s music explores themes like multiculturalism, multiplicity, and self-empowerment. As one of the very few women in the Arab hip-hop world, Felukah is a beacon and her work aids in destigmatising many of the things that women—Arab women, in particular—have to go through on a daily basis.

ISSAM

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Considered one of the leading voices in the Moroccan trap scene, Issam Harris, known mononymously as ISSAM, was initially drawn to the genre and inspired to rap after stumbling across Young Thug on a SoundCloud playlist. Breaking out with the track “Trap Beldi” (which has over 15 million views on YouTube), the 27-year-old has perfected fusing contemporary Moroccan culture into his visuals and delivery, and forged his own unique form of hyper-local rap inspired by the realities of daily life in Morocco. Having written, recorded, produced, mixed and directed much of the music on his popular YouTube channel on his own, ISSAM has since worked with a number of American and German producers and signed a record deal with Universal Music France, the largest international record deal ever signed by an Arab artist.

Bu Kolthoum

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With his name a play on Um Kulthoum—the most famous Middle Eastern artist to have ever lived—and pre-Islamic Arab warrior and poet Bin Kulthoum, Bu Kolthoum is prolific in his ambitions with a repertoire consisting of producing, writing, singing, mixing and film-directing. While living and studying in the city of Daraa, the hub of the Syrian revolution, Bu suffered from PTSD and, as he put it in an interview, turned to rapping as a means of expressing himself. Now a refugee in the Netherlands, the Syrian-born rhymer regularly racks up hundreds of thousands of views and has been revolutionising Middle Eastern political rap by weaving emotive narratives into his offerings. “Jouwana”, for example (above), implores “don’t forget us” on the hook.

TooDope

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Born Tayeb Hajo, TooDope is a Sudanese rapper who spent his formative years between Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, before returning to his homeland. An experimenter of styles, his most recent offering, a 4-track bilingual collaborative EP with fellow Sudanese rapper roTation, was released during lockdown and fuses dancehall, old school jazz, trap and R&B influences. The Khartoum-based rapper and co-founder of hip-hop initiative YoungJutus has made a name for himself by speaking candidly about the contemporary Sudanese experience, with tracks like “Ejaza” (above) paying homage to the strength and resilience of the Sudanese people.

Last year, Hajo partnered with UNICEF for their Reimagine campaign, which saw artists from countries such as Syria, Brazil and Jamaica collab on a re-release of Bob Marley’s “One Love in support of families affected by COVID-19. As he put it in an interview with UNICEF: “Rap has always been a social commentary type of genre. I always try to maintain socially aware and reflective lyrics in all my music that speaks to the contemporary Sudanese experience.”

The Synaptik

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With tunes awash with bouncy melodies and catchy hooks, Palestinian-Jordanian Laith Hasan, otherwise known as The Synaptik, is often hailed as the Arab world’s Trap King. After studying for med-school while making beats on a computer he built himself in order to get around the high cost of equipment, Synaptik is now a practicing physician, and graduated from rapping in English to his native Arabic for his debut album, Om Al Mawjat (the mother of waves). Having garnered over three million spins on SoundCloud, much of his work grapples with ideas around travel, migration and who is allowed to go where; themes he experiences himself as an Arab artist.

Shadia Mansour

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Dubbed “the First Lady of Arabic hip-hop”, 35-year-old Shadia Mansour is one of the pioneering figures of the Arab hip-hop scene. The bilingual British/Palestinian wordsmith began singing at Palestinian protest rallies as a child and quickly made a name for herself in the community for her ability to deliver classical Arab songs of protest. Her first single, “El Kufiyyeh 3arabeyyeh” (above)—an anthem against cultural appropriation and the kufiyeeh’s role as a symbol of Arab nationalism—features Dead Prez’s M1 and has had over 1.7 million views. With a hardcore rap sound that’s reminiscent of the genre in the 1980s and ‘90s, much of Shadia Mansour’s music focuses on politics in the Middle East. She has said that she considers herself to be part of a “musical intifada [resistance]” against the occupation of Palestine, conservatism, and the oppression of women.

Mohamed Ramadan

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Starting his career a celebrated actor, Egyptian-born Mohamed Ramadan’s rapping has since made him one of the country’s most successful cultural exports. Borrowing from stereotypical American rap ideals—fancy cars, bling and bravado—you’re never sure if he’s taking himself seriously or just playing a role. But, with the addition of Arab percussion and the customary Egyptian colloquiums, his offerings are always super-catchy. And often funny, too: whether that’s intentional on his part, or not. Last June, Ramadan released “Corona Virus”, the video for which sees him don bejewelled gloves and a bellydancer-esque gold mask as he raps in Arabic: “I’m the prince, I’m a gentleman, face mask worn and gloves too / Say hello from far, no hugs, Coronavirus, now I’m safe!”

Having amassed 2 billion views on his YouTube channel, Mohamed Ramadan is today the most-viewed celebrity in the Middle East and has been garnering worldwide attention. He has worked with a number of international artists, including French-Congolese rapper Maitre Gims, who he recently collaborated with for “Ya Habibi”, earning them a spot on the Spotify billboard in Times Square and making Ramadan the second Arab artist ever afforded the accolade.

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