Palestinian-Syrian rapper, producer and no-nonsense wordsmith, Sallam Naser, has released a three-track EP titled مع اطيب التحيات. Growing up in Syria's largest Palestinian refugee camp – Yarmouk – among a family of sculptors and fine artists, Naser took to rapping in 2014 after being granted asylum in Norway (where he currently resides). Upon relocating, the artist formed a rap group, Kaza, and dedicated himself to mastering Norwegian in order to partake in the country's rap battles. Today, at the mere age of 22, Naser has four rap battle victories under his belt, a plethora of releases and his own production company, 'SN Productions'. He remains one of the very few Arab rappers and beat-makers in Norway of his calibre.Naser's latest track comes in the form of an introspective, sonically diverse EP produced by Arab, Swedish-based DJ and producer, Wardenclyph. It sequels the artist's thirteen-track LP, جبر الكسر – a nostalgic-yet-realistic body of work recreating Yarmouk Camp exactly according to how Naser remembers it. Similar to its antecedent, مع اطيب التحيات is lyrically genius, comprising a continuous play on words and allegories expressing personal experiences including memories and encounters.Instantly delving into the conceptual is inaugurating track 'صبارة', which – with its ambience, mellow rap and smooth, female vocals – is a continual metaphor of time and endurance. Markedly different in sound, the second track '(ووردنكلف في (لمّا تروح' begins with a soulful choir and jazz sounds before being surprisingly joined by an edit of Bill Withers's 'Ain't No Sunshine.' Closing مع اطيب التحيات with a slightly heavier rap beat but a nonetheless preserved ambience is 'يوم جديد' ('New Day'). Lyrically poetic, metaphorical and inward-looking, the EP concludes with what Naser does best.
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