The rapper Saint Levant is a hit by mixing French, English and Arabic
At the moment, he is causing a stir on platforms and social networks in Arab countries. Born in Jerusalem to a Franco-Algerian mother and a Palestinian-Serb father, the singer Saint Levant explodes particularly on TikTok, where he seduces as much as he divides, writes the review rolling stone, who draws his portrait.
At 22, this rapper based in the United States has released several songs that mix Arabic, French and English: a syncretism that “reflects its plural heritage” and with which a part of the Arab youth identifies, relates the musical magazine.
The latest track, released on December 13 and titled I imagine, went viral on TikTok – just like its previous title, very few friends. the New York Times even included it in his weekly playlist, mid-December.
Clips that make the buzz
The rapper-crooner makes “Music so that it goes viral, without the slightest scruple, it is even its raison d’être”, and it works, believes the American daily. In the clip of I Guess, “his insistent gaze even manages to make the camera blush. […] The whole thing has a sticky, hypnotic and immodest side.”
Sign of his ascension: very few friends counts 25 million plays on Spotify and the rapper is on tour in several capitals of the Middle East.
But the sensuality of the one who merges R’n’B, Arab trap and Franco-Arab rap “divides the Internet, between those who find his music suggestive and others who find it on the contrary corny”observe rolling stone.
Undo the clichés
Questioned by the review, Saint Levant, Marwan Abdelhamid of his real name, explains that he wants “to invite music lovers from all over the world to discover the culture of the Middle East”. Having grown up between the Palestinian Territories and Jordan, the artist also wants through his words marked by vulnerability “allow discussions on sexuality and mental health in the Middle East and North Africa to be discussed without taboos”, note the review.
The Arab press also speaks of the young singer recognizable by his mustache and constantly dressed in a tank top. The pan-Arab news site Arab News takes a keen interest in his Palestinian heritage. And judge that Saint Levant “ardently campaigning for the Palestinian cause” and “embodies this youth [arabe] politicized”like the Palestinian-Dutch model Bella Hadid.
