Jaw Ard: Molotof and Shabjdeed Deliver in One of the Most Anticipated Collaborations of the Year

Though we’ve seen the regional rap scene throw up some epic collaborations over the years, few have excited fans more than the promise of Egypt’s Molotof and Palestine’s Shabjdeed teaming-up.

First teased over a week ago, ‘Jaw Ard’ has clearly been in the works for some time, especially when considering the high-end, seemingly high-concept video. Described as a passion project for the two artists, it marks the coming together of arguably Egypt’s hottest producer right now and one of the shining lights in a Shaami region that keeps producing top MCs.

While many have become accustomed to hearing Shabjdeed over mellow trap/drill production - usually produced by long-time partner-in-crime, Al Nather - ‘Jaw Ard’ sees the BLTNM co-founder take on a quintessential, shaabi-painted, Molotof beat, dripping in murky, swirling synths and sounds. The marching drum-like beat pushes Shabjdeed to lower the pace of his usual rapid flow, but he’s no less sharp in his rhyming and delivery. <iframe width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yK35ix-eCqc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The video, meanwhile, is really something else - it’s one of those that could mean anything and everything, or nothing at all. Though he largely maintains a low-key presence, Molotof appears in the mostly black-and-white video, adding even more fuel to his most raging of musical fires. What the video - directed by :Eslam Abo El Enein and produced by Nojara Productions - all means is open to interpretation; Molotof stares in a mirror of fire and is later seen with flaming fists; Shabjdeed emerges from water, as if reborn, with a butterfly tattoo; a bunch of good-looking guys and gals dance in abandoned buses and in front of a fashioned blood moon.