Popular in both his homeland and among Sudanese diaspora around the world, hip-hop artist, roTation, is a name to look out for. As the de facto honcho of Sudanese rap collective, NuSlang, the rapper, real name Tamer Siddig, has a string of popular hits to his name, including 'Green' (2015), '249 We Almost Lost it' (2017) and 'Posta' (2017), the three of which stacked up a combined 250,000-plus plays on SoundCloud alone, with the latter’s plays on Anghami reaching over 300,000 – all numbers that demand even the most casual of hip-hop fan’s attention.
His latest hit is well on its way to being another impressive notch on his growing belt, too; released not too long ago, ‘Affin Affin’ has gathered an equally impressive 116,000 on Anghami. So what’s the big deal with this guy?
Well, as has become something of a trademark, roTation – also a songwriter and producer – fuses r&b, hip-hop and soul trap in the most unique of ways by also leaning into his Sudanese influences, to create a track this is soulful, aggressive and dance-able in equal measure. But it’s his use of soul trap specifically that really makes the difference and the influence of 90s southern hip-hop, from which trap originated, is apparent.
Blurring the lines between rapping and singing, as has become a trend in recent times, the track feels relevant, fresh and most significantly, original to what is a burgeoning rap scene in Sudan. This is the sound of new Sudanese rap and it’s here to stay - stay tuned for roTation's debut video, too.
Follow roTation on Facebook and check out more of his music on SoundCloud.
