Marwan Moussa’s releases are not strangers to going viral overnight. His name itself by now seems to be a magnet for attention, which may at times blur the view from the actual music he releases, which is more often than not some of the most entertaining, engaging, and accessible rap coming out in Arabic, anywhere globally. ‘Afreqya W Amreka’ is a case in point.
Marwan’s flow is unmistakable and his confidence comes forward as charming and endlessly humorous on ‘Afreqya W Amreka’. The song is not necessarily funny, his lines and delivery usually give off a feel-good vibe that’s approachable and easy to go down with. His zero-cares-given lines come across as confident and paradoxically straddle the line between careless abandon, and caring just about the right things.
“كنت في المعمل بفكس القاعدة
بلقط اشارة التردد الاعلى
كنت في محاولة انني ادرس المعنى
كانش في معنى
لقيت الموضوع مش بتاعنا”
The words and attitude of ‘Afreqya W Amreka’, and Moussa’s music in general often come with a sense of puzzlement and contain some pawnshop philosophy that’s endearing and usually funny. Hearing those lines in ‘Afreqya W Amreka’ make Marwan’s experiences more relatable to more people, and put next to samples and beats that straddle the line between understated and whimsical gives those parts a sense of curious wonder that nobody else delivers.
One of Marwan’s trademarks is how while it’s normal for rappers to boast of what earthly possessions they have, he often opts to boast of what he’s actually like as a person and of how much respect he receives everywhere he goes, while still wanting things like everybody else. Marwan hasn’t bought everything yet, and his desire to get a manual BMW X6 in white is one of those unforgettable Marwan Moussa lines that make him endure as one of the region’s most cherished names.
Moussa’s latest release comes with what we love most about his songs. An essential creator of popular rap, Marwan’s music satisfies a huge gap in the industry, and it does so with a defined character and a ton of panache that makes it rather enough for that gap. Variety is always good, but there can be no denying that Marwan Moussa is one the absolute OGs of the scene and that his influence is impossible to understate.
