Maybe because, even though we are talking about music, this is a narrative of reality; very well recreated with an excellent musical result that is the vessel of a very uncomfortable truth: what are we doing about it?
I wonder whether we are really listening to voices like his. Beyond the rhythms, the message, the warning. Nader Khalil has been here for a while and in that sense, there is a lot to listen to. He is a self-produced artist with a distinctive sound and vision that makes his art easily identifiable among his peers. Prior to creating music under his own name, from 2013 to 2017, Nader released music under the alias Nok From the Future, earning tens of millions of streams and collaborating with artists such as Cousin Stizz, Dylan Brady, Kevin Abstract, and Night Lovell, among others.
The rapper and producer has been working and releasing music under his own name since 2019 and has received very positive critical acclaim. He is currently working on the third and final part of this trilogy, whether intentional or not his work is an artistic milestone for those of his generation. It is a political statement in itself that sits above the contemporary approach to alt pop music. Imagine being in a museum, white walls, bright light, Nader's work in front of you. More than a canvas it functions as a mirror, and it is important to think of an empty room as part of the listener's experience because his music has no distraction or deterrent purpose: it is you between the art and the wall, and your ability to confront our critical thinking. What is our position towards the Arab world? All of this is overlaid with an exquisite approach to his musical production, a perfect communion of the current sound field of both electronica and hip hop with elements of Arabic music that add even more authenticity and uniqueness to his work.
It is difficult to place Khalil's work among his contemporaries because, firstly, it is quite rare, but secondly, the embarrassing truth is that we really don't have much knowledge of contemporary Arabic music. It is easy to see how comfortable the system of gentrification towards cultural appropriation is, unfortunately a status asset nowadays. Nader unabashedly explores his Arab background in his music. Nader Khalil 1 was recorded in Guadalajara, Mexico (you can feel the heat). "Can't decide who I love, who I hate, who I need" he says in Can't Decide, in which he tells the story of a man in search of his identity and cultural location. On Nader Khalil 2 we find tracks like Dark Mawwal, another great song whose video seems to portray a journey. It has to do with the sea and a continuous journey, a reference to the boats in which many have to face life and death situations when fleeing their places of origin.
I wonder whether we are really listening to voices like his. Beyond the rhythms, the message, the warning. Nader Khalil has been here for a while and in that sense, there is a lot to listen to. He is a self-produced artist with a distinctive sound and vision that makes his art easily identifiable among his peers. Prior to creating music under his own name, from 2013 to 2017, Nader released music under the alias Nok From the Future, earning tens of millions of streams and collaborating with artists such as Cousin Stizz, Dylan Brady, Kevin Abstract, and Night Lovell, among others.
The rapper and producer has been working and releasing music under his own name since 2019 and has received very positive critical acclaim. He is currently working on the third and final part of this trilogy, whether intentional or not his work is an artistic milestone for those of his generation. It is a political statement in itself that sits above the contemporary approach to alt pop music. Imagine being in a museum, white walls, bright light, Nader's work in front of you. More than a canvas it functions as a mirror, and it is important to think of an empty room as part of the listener's experience because his music has no distraction or deterrent purpose: it is you between the art and the wall, and your ability to confront our critical thinking. What is our position towards the Arab world? All of this is overlaid with an exquisite approach to his musical production, a perfect communion of the current sound field of both electronica and hip hop with elements of Arabic music that add even more authenticity and uniqueness to his work.
It is difficult to place Khalil's work among his contemporaries because, firstly, it is quite rare, but secondly, the embarrassing truth is that we really don't have much knowledge of contemporary Arabic music. It is easy to see how comfortable the system of gentrification towards cultural appropriation is, unfortunately a status asset nowadays. Nader unabashedly explores his Arab background in his music. Nader Khalil 1 was recorded in Guadalajara, Mexico (you can feel the heat). "Can't decide who I love, who I hate, who I need" he says in Can't Decide, in which he tells the story of a man in search of his identity and cultural location. On Nader Khalil 2 we find tracks like Dark Mawwal, another great song whose video seems to portray a journey. It has to do with the sea and a continuous journey, a reference to the boats in which many have to face life and death situations when fleeing their places of origin.
