It’s not too over-the-top to say that Egyptian rapper Swani’s debut has been years in the making. The 25 year-old Aswan native has been working on his craft for some time, waiting for the right moment in his own development to step out into the country’s chaotic, bustling rap scene.
‘Lahab’ sees the rapper represent Aswan through his dialect/accent, mixing it in his bars with a more familiar Cairo one. His lyrics touch on the evolution of Egyptian rap and hip-hop, though the most unique element to the lyrics is that they’re set-up as a dialogue between Aswani Swani and non-Aswani Swani. The former talks of his native culture and traditions, while the latter tells a story of stealing a conventional Cairo rapper’s girlfriend - that girlfriend symbolising the rap scene.This first outing for Swani is certainly a promising one and while his management team tells SceneNoise that this is just the beginning, his Aswani dialect already gives him an edge in a rap scene that sees many struggle to separate themselves from the crowd.
