How do you define Moroccan music? Well, that’s sort of a trick question. Defining something that broad is complex. What is American music? What is Egyptian music? I think geographic and cultural labels do little to describe the breadth of a genre. People who play rock music, heavy metal, classical, folk, or hiphop can all be combined under such large categories. Case in point — Moroccan music includes rock bands, rappers, traditional guitarists, singers of classical poetry, and more.
Today, we listen to a talented singer who is both a rapper and a pop star. We hear the striking chords of traditional Gnawa music and lilting vocals singing Arabic poetry. Read below to learn more about these great Moroccan musicians and listen to songs that highlight their magnificent voices.
Hamid El Kasri
Hamid El Kasri, the oldest of these four musicians, was born in 1961 in northern Morocco. At the age of seven, he began studying Gnawa music under the tutelage of two greats, Maalem Alouane and Maalem Abdelouahed Stitou from Tangier.
Gnawa music originated with the Gnawa ethnic group, who came to Morocco as slaves from sub-Saharan Africa in the 1600s. Their music features prominently in their religious ceremonies and rituals that mix Sufism and West African traditions. The country has adopted their music more broadly in recent decades, secularizing the genre however and adding aspects of jazz and blues.
El Kasri is one of the genre’s living masters. His deep voice and outgoing, charismatic presence shot him to stardom and he continues to attract large audiences in Morocco and abroad. I love the traditional songs Moulay Ahmed and Lalla Aicha in the video above — El Kasri’s musical talent, the beautiful melody, and his call and response with the band behind him. Listen for yourself, then check out El Kasri’s latest songs and popular hits on his YouTube Channel.
Manal
Manal, whose full name is Manal Benchlikha, spans multiple genres including both hip-hop and pop music. Born in 1993, she grew up in Marrakesh and started her musical career by covering songs on her guitar then posting them to YouTube.
Since then, Manal has grown into an artist of many talents. She has won multiple awards including two All Africa Music Awards for the Best Female Artist in Northern Africa (2015 and 2021). And her online videos attract millions of likes and viewers. Outside music, she has a BA and MA in business and finance, and has also been working on a PhD. An impressive resume.
The video above, for the song Slay, is a collaboration with Moroccan rapper ElGrandeToto. The lyrics call out her critics: “These b*****s constantly insult me but have nothing in their little lives. I could leave you a few decades and you’d never have the same size.” For me though, Manal’s talent really shines in the diverse topics she addresses. While Slay speaks to her critics, pop songs like Makhelaw Magalou treat love. And the video for her hit Taj pointedly pushes against gender stereotypes and sexual harassment. You can check out these songs and others on Manal’s YouTube channel.
Bab L’Bluz
Formed in 2018 in Marrakesh, the band Bab L’Bluz blends the music and styles of psychedelic rock, blues, and Gnawa — a traditional genre from Morocco. Yousra Mansour fronts the four-piece band, singing in the Moroccan Arabic or darija. Her smooth vocals are backed by the funky rhythms of drums, flute, and gimbri, a three-stringed rectangular instrument that resembles a lute.
The video above features two songs from the band’s performance at the MTN Bushfire Festival in Eswatini in 2021. They begin with Ila Mata (Until When), whose catchy refrain delivers a strong social message: “Until when will ignorance rule? Until when will the injustice last ? Until when are we forced to remain silent? Until when will violence be glorified?” If you like this song, be sure to check out more of Bab L’Bluz here.
Fatima Hadad
My last example of Moroccan music is Fatima Hadad, who was born in 1969 in Kenitra, just up the coast from Rabat. She sang and acted in her youth, before falling in love with the genre of sung poetry known as malhun.
Malhun is uniquely North African, found in both Morocco and Algeria. This sung poetry has its roots in Morocco, where its history goes back about 500 years. Hadad was an ardent fan of the malhun artist Husayn al-Tulali, who passed away in 1998, and created her own group to sing and share malhun. Since then, Hadad has played a big part in the continuation and preservation of this musical tradition and also launched an official association for malhun enthusiasts in 2004.
The song above is from a Malhun festival in the Moroccan town of Taroudant. I love the rise and fall of Hadad’s trilling lyrics backed by the pulse of hand drums, a beat that accelerates to the song’s final crescendo. If you like this piece, be sure to check out more of Hadad’s performances on her YouTube channel.
What Next?
Which of these Moroccan musicians did you like best? What did you think of their different songs? I love the diverse rhythms and musical styles, not to mention their fantastic voices and contagious energy. To be honest, this is only a small subset of what Moroccan music has to offer. Check out other amazing artists from Morocco, such as the fusion band Hoba Hoba Spirit (who mix punk rock, gnawa, and reggae), the Chaabi singer Haja El Hamdaouia, or the Amazigh folk singer Mohamed Rouicha.
This blog Other Things has many more posts to explore as well. Recently we’ve covered innovative architecture in Kuwait, built this comprehensive list of Middle Eastern cookbooks (with so many delicious recipes!), and listened to music from other parts of the Middle East. Check out these four fantastic Saudi musicians, for instance, or these examples of musicians from Algeria.
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