Marwan Abdelhamid (Arabic: مروان عبد الحميد; born October 6, 2000),[1] known as Saint Levant, is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian-Algerian-French-Serbian rapper now living in Los Angeles.[2] He is a multilingual rapper, known for his song "Very Few Friends". He is also Dior's first fragrance ambassador in the Middle East.[3]
Saint Levant | |
|---|---|
 Saint Levant | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marwan Abdelhamid |
| Born | October 6, 2000 Jerusalem |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) |
|
| Years active | 2020-present |
| Labels | |
Early life and education edit
Abdelhamid was born on 6 October 2000 in Jerusalem to a French-Algerian mother and Palestinian-Serbian father during the Second Intifada. Abdelhamid's childhood was spent primarily in the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian territories until the 2007 Battle of Gaza forced his family to relocate to Amman,[1] Jordan.[2] Growing up, he communicated in English at school, French at home, and Arabic at the Palestinian refugee camp where he played football after school.[citation needed]
In 2022, Abdelhamid received a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara.[4]
Career and activism edit
Before taking on the name Saint Levant, Abdelhamid wrote "Jerusalem Freestyles" and "Nirvana in Gaza", both of which discussed political issues. Around the same time, began posting videos on TikTok in which he discussed Palestinian history, as well as commentary on toxic masculinity in Arab culture. Shortly after, he co-founded GrowHome, which connects Palestinian entrepreneurs with individuals who can help fund their projects.[5]
In November 2022, Saint Levant released his trilingual rap track "Very Few Friends", which was streamed approximately 2 million YouTube views in one month.[2] The song soon became popular on TikTok and Instagram.[4]
In 2023 Saint Levant released "From Gaza with Love". In 2024 he signed with Universal Arabic Music (UAM) and released, together with MC Abdul, "Deira" (ديرة, Arabic: "casbah" or "old city"). The song is in the Shaabi musical style of Algiers, Algeria. He explained that "Deira" was the name of the 22-room beachfront hotel that his father Rashid, designed and his parents built in 2000 when they moved to Gaza and which the Israeli military destroyed by bombing in 2023 during Israel's latest attacks on the Gaza Strip.[6][7]
He tells Arab News in an interview, "I grew up in a hotel built with my father’s architectural brain. And, to me, it was like the best years of my life.”[8]
Saint Levant is outspoken on the struggle in Palestine, telling Harper's Bazaar:[9]
"Everything I do is focused and based on the Palestinian cause and struggle, doing a lot of contextualizing… I came to America… and… people think… the… conflict (is)… between these two equal(s)… (who) just hate each other for some reason, (that) Palestinians just hate Israelis. (In reality) it's 80 years of occupation and oppression and displacement and ethnic cleansing so I think it's very important to just push that forward always and I try to do it through the music; I try to do it through my actions, and everything that I do".
Saint Levant performed at Coachella in 2024.[10] He used his performance to bring awareness to the ongoing war taking place in Gaza.[11] Coachella has broadcast all performances on their YouTube channel[12] except for Saint Levant's performance, which was taken down[citation needed].
Personal life edit
Abdelhamid lives in Los Angeles, though he regularly returns to Amman.[2]
Discography edit
EPs edit
- From Gaza, with Love (2023)
Singles edit
- Jerusalem Freestyle (2020)
- Nirvana in Gaza (2020)
- 7ajir (2021)
- Haifa in a Tesla (2021)
- Desert Rose (2021)
- Sahrawi (2021)
- 1001 Nights (2021)
- Nasser (2022)
- Caged Birds Sing (2022)
- Mandela (2022)
- Tête-à-Tête (2022)
- By the Sea (2022)
- One More Time / Baby (2022)
- Mistakes (2022)
- Here and There (2022)
- Very Few Friends (2022)
- I Guess (2022)
- Facetime (2023)
- Nails (2023)
- Deira ft. MC Abdul (2024)
- 5am in Paris (2024)
References edit
- ^ a b "Saint Levant Represents Palestine, Raps in 3 Languages & is Thankful for His TikTok Success". YouTube. Harper's Bazaar. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Babar, Laiba (2023-01-30). "Who is Saint Levant? Everything We Know About the Viral Arab Rapper". GQ Middle East. Archived from the original on 2023-01-31. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Anwar, Shaheera (2023-05-05). "Dior makes history with Saint Levant, the first Middle East fragrance ambassador". Archived from the original on 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
- ^ a b Chokrayne, Boutayna (21 December 2022). "Saint Levant on Shattering Arab Stereotypes and Why He's Keeping the Mustache". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (6 March 2023). "For Saint Levant, Sexy Music Is Personal, and Political". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (23 February 2024). "Palestinian-Algerian Rapper Saint Levant Drops 'Deira' Single With MC Abdul, Paying Tribute to Gaza". Variety. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Bain, Katie (24 February 2024). "Saint Levant & Gazan Rapper MC Abdul Celebrate the Culture of Palestine in 'Deira' Video". Billboard. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Palestinian artist Saint Levant to make Coachella debut". Arab News. 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "Saint Levant Represents Palestine, Raps in 3 Languages & is Thankful for His TikTok Success". YouTube. Harper's Bazaar. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
Everything I do is focused and based on the Palestinian cause and struggle, doing a lot of contextualizing of the Palestinian struggle… because I came to America… and… people think that the Palestinian conflict was… between these two equal(s)… they just hate each other for some reason, Palestinians just hate Israelis. What people don't understand is that it's 80 years of occupation and oppression and displacement and ethnic cleansing so I think it's very important to uh just push that forward always and I try to do it through the music I try to do it through my actions and everything that I do
- ^ "Saint Levant at Coachella is Finally Happening - GQ Middle East". GQ Middle East. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ "Saint Levant addresses Gaza war on stage at Coachella music festival". Arab News. 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "Coachella - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
External links edit
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