With a sea of rappers emerging everyday, the genre is seeing growth like no other style is witnessing, to the extent of almost overtaking the commercialization of shaabi and romantic-pop music. However, this scene still has a lot of growth and obstacles to face before it reaches the absolute top.
One problem this causes is having nearly everyone trying out rap music, without having any knowledge about basic songwriting, rhythm, harmony, or even the culture of rap itself, while others are taking hiphop and making it in their own distinctive way, which brings us to upcoming distinctive rapper Swani, who keeps on impressing with every release using his culturally-significant Aswani dialect, offering a new sound and accent within the Egyptian rap scene.
Swani might be relatively new within the scene, but he speaks from years of experience, honing his craft up to the release of his debut single ‘Lahab’, followed by the powerful statement of ‘Easy’ and the chilling vibes of ‘Fasla’. Swani, alongside frequent collaborator Swish (previously known as On-Mars), released their debut EP ‘Rahan’, an affirmation from the duo that they belong among the talented stars of the Egyptian rap scene.
The duo kick things off with ‘3ozla’, a piano-based instrumental in which Swish opts for using Eastern percussive along with the fluctuating bassline, which adds a palpable feel within the chorus of the single. The story follows a cascade inside Swani’s head of two voices speaking to each other; a calm voice in the first verse advising the other, with the notion of being alone doesn’t mean you don’t have support or friends, which reflects on the name of ‘3ozla’ which translates to isolation. While the other angry voice in the second verse is boosting and encouraging the other, giving them a boost of confidence.
The duo take a mellow turn in ‘Shook’, going with an emotional direction in which Swani shows a more sentimental side of his vocal and lyrical direction. The Aswani rapper goes deep and raw, pouring his heart out in this chilling single discussing his origins and upbringing while also going through the hardships he previously had to face. Sonically, the track boasts an abundance of atmospheric elements, giving it this spiritual aura with the use of toned-down Eastern percussions gluing together the Egyptian sound with Swish’s unique twist.
Swani concludes the EP with a strong statement in the name of ‘Rakkezo’ translating to “focus”, as the rapper sends a message to everyone out there to keep an eye on him, and that he will execute anything he states, whether in his bars or in real life. Swish offers a sinister instrumental, mainly given this effect from the choice of fluctuating bass along with the chilling bass. Mid-way through the song, Swani blows the roof away with what might be his hardest delivery to date in an intense ending to the second verse.
The sky’s the limit to the up-and-comers Swani and Swish who produced a perfectly executed project, amalgamating the Egyptian rap sound with an individualistic twist. The work doesn’t stop there as Swani has an even bigger project in the works, which is set to show new tones and styles for the rising rapper.
