If you’re reading this, it’s too late: Drake has already shot his shot in Arabic. Yep, it’s true — on his new track ‘Only You Freestyle’ with British musician Headie One, the Canadian rapper sings: “Arabic ting told me I look like Youssef, look like Hamza. Habibti please, ana akeed, inti w ana ahla.” The Arabic portion roughly translates to: “My love, please, I’m sure, you and I are better.”
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It’s definitely not a slam dunk — it’s already the fodder of memes and jokes, particularly when it comes to Drake’s mispronunciation of ‘ahla’ as ‘akhla’. We’ll give him this, though — the Arabic language is notoriously tough to nail, holding a completely different alphabet to English. But, while we have your eyes and ears, we also need to talk about some of the Arabic rap you should be paying attention to, other than Drake’s fun-sized verse.
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The region is full of talented Arab artists who rap in English, non-Arabs who rap in Arabic, and the rappers who do a bit of everything (such as 47Soul - pictured). While this is by no means a comprehensive list, and requires further extra-curricular listening, here’s your introduction to 14 rappers who can hold their own… and who can pronounce ‘ahla’, too.
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Bu Kolthoum: Bu Kolthoum isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve or hash it out with his demons through his music. The Syrian artist drops more than just buttery bars and melodic rhymes, but crafts heartfelt art from somewhere deep within. We challenge you to keep yourself from putting his track ‘Zamilou’ off of repeat.
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Freek: Dubai-based Somali rapper Freek has built a loyal following through his heavy hitting Arabic bars. His rhymes are frosty and he has lyrics to match. We recommend you start with ‘Wala Kilma’ (‘Not a Word’) and work your way through his discography. Fun fact: Freek also has an official track titled ‘Mo Salah’ as part of an Adidas campaign with the world-famous Liverpool striker — and Freek got to rap the song in front of Salah in Dubai.
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Tin Nen: Palestine-based rapper Tin Nen will get you right in your feelings with his sentimental, melancholic Arabic rap, carried by his chilling monotone delivery. We recommend you get started with ‘Inta Mnih?’ (‘You Good?’), a slow-unfolding, weeping wound of a track that will transport you to those 3am overthinking sessions that keep you up at night.
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Omar Offendum: The Syrian-American spoken word artist and rapper is teaming up with producer Thanks Joey (yup, the same producer who brought us the 'Lahme' song) for his second full-length album, ‘Lost in Translation’, dropping soon. But there’s plenty of sociopolitical, multilingual bangers to feast your ears (and hearts) upon in his first album, ‘Syrianamericana’ (2011).
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Felukah: The New York-based Egyptian rapper and creative writing major says she’s creating a blueprint for her ‘in between’ identity as an artist, split between her homebase of Egypt and new home in America. On songs like ‘Mesh Hastanna’ (‘I Won’t Wait’), she raps about the struggle of the everyday Arab woman.
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Illiam: He says he’s space-based, but indie Palestinian rapper Illiam delivers nothing but grounded vibes on his 2020 EP ‘Space Chill’, which combines lofi slow beats with his fast-spitting delivery.
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Flipperachi: Bahraini hip-hop artist Flipperachi is down to freestyle in the front seat of his car or hit a beat in the studio. His top-streamed singles on Spotify are ‘Enty Jameela’ (‘You’re Beautiful’) and ‘Ee Laa’ (‘Yes, no’), which each have more than 700,000 listens.
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DAM: Palestinian hip-hop group DAM has been going strong since 1999, with their protest-driven lyrics tackling issues such as oppression and women’s rights. The band’s main members are Maysa Daw, Tamer Nafar, DJ Bruno Cruz and Mahmood Jrere.
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Malikah: Lebanese rapper Malikah is a trailblazer in the scene, particularly when it comes to Arab female rappers, with tracks like ‘Sma3’ (‘Listen’).
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Wegz: Trap rapper Wegz hails from Egypt and regularly racks up upwards of a million streams on his singles on Spotify, with ‘Dork Geye’ (‘Your Turn Is Coming’), ‘Wahed W Eshreen’ (‘21’) and ‘Keda Keda’ topping the list. Wegz combines traditional Egyptian pop with trap.
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KC Hamada: Based in the UAE, KC Hamada is an up-and-coming Iraqi-Iranian rapper with distinctly gritty and compelling delivery. Though he primarily raps in English, you can catch some of his Arabic-rapping skills on the chorus of his track ‘Sadoh’.
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El Far3i (’47Soul’): ‘47Soul’ is one of our favourite Arabic bands, hands down, and their Jordanian-Palestinian member El Far3i does his own thing on the side, too, with a focus on rap and four solo albums to show for it. If his name sounds familiar, El Far3i was formerly in the Arab rock group El Morabba3, too.
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Shadia Mansour: The self-proclaimed ‘first lady of Arabic hip hop’, immaculate Palestinian rapper Shadia Mansour created a buzz 10 years ago with her track ‘El Kofeyye Arabeyye’, an anthem against cultural appropriation and a proclamation of ownership over the keffiyeh, which has more than 1.6 million views on YouTube to date.
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