Egyptian rapper Slyver’s newly released track, ‘Yaba’, drifts away from his usual hip-hop sound and into a deep shaabi-inspired rhythm. The track was accompanied by a colourful music video that dives deep into the genre’s birthplace, the local quarters of the Egyptian street.
Released by Universal Music MENA and directed by Salah Besher, the video opens with a ney-infused electronic intro, accompanied by contrasting visuals of groups of friends playing tawla and sipping tea at the corner ahwa, before cutting to the immaculately-dressed Slyver as he guides us through alleyways and peeling buildings.
The track gains its momentum as the artist lyrically expresses a mesmerising haze desires, all while he grooves beside the alluring and kaleidoscopic colours of Sufi dervishes twirling the ancient tannoura.
