Following the release of his single "Wala Kilma”, 26 year old Somali rapper Mustafa Ismail, aka FREEK, gained an ardent following from hip-hop and trap aficionados across the globe. With 385K views, "Wala Kilma" or "Say No More" was also viewed widely as inaugurating 'drill' music - a sub-genre of hip-hop prominent in the UK - to the Middle East.
Born and raised in the UAE, not exactly the birth-nation of hip-hop let alone drill, FREEK does not represent the norm by any stretch of the imagination. More exceptionally, the Somalian rapper's most recent release, a remix of "Wala Kilma" featuring Eyez and Young Tribez, is a melting pot of gangster-style drill, lyrically savvy hip-hop and pulsating trap. UK grime MCs Eyez and Young Tribez add an English dimension to the main message FREEK is conveying throughout the track in Arabic - drawing attention to the fact that youngsters from marginalized communities across the world face common struggles.
FREEK's skill in achieving the perfect concoction of sounds to produce a different, non-appropriative tune stemmed from his childhood which, although far removed from the music hubs of America and the UK, was influenced by mp3 players and heavy metal. Often, FREEK reminisces about the long days he spent skateboarding, around the age of 10, when he began to fall mad about hip-hop. With an innate gravitation to different sounds, the young artists will undoubtedly continue to produce pioneering tracks such as "Wala Kilma" along with unique remixes which incorporate different, yet similar facets.
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