The Middle Eastern hip-hop icons, The Synaptik and Felukah, are teaming up once again for their new single Allya’Teek.
Following on from their debut collaboration Nefsi, the new single pairs up Cairo via New York rapper Felukah and Palestinian-Jordanian artist The Synaptik.
“This project is about polarities, identity and just about being raw, Arab, and not ashamed of being yourself,” the artists said in a joint statement, “It talks about how we can’t be ourselves in a world that is constantly trying to categorize and classify us.”
The song Allya’Teek builds on the debut single Nefsi, released earlier in the summer with clever wordplay that slips into English and Arabic at the drop of a hi-hat. With a strong hip hop core and moody chords, it is a classic hip hop joint with clear nods to the past and future.
The new song also features a stunning video shot on location in Cairo. As the song speaks of loneliness, the video portrays how The Synaptik deals with it as he flies from city to city and performs in front of thousands of people, while being lonely in-between.
The video blends actual concert footage from The Synaptik alongside guest appearances from Felukah, and highlights the similarities between human relationships and how little actually separates us.
The two songs, Allya’Teek and Nefsi, were commissioned by Marsm, a London-based event producer, for the Shubbak Festival. Felukah and The Synaptik’s collaborative effort will culminate in a joint concert at London’s Jazz Cafe in late October, hosted by Marsm and Shubbak.
The Synaptik is based in Palestine, and started making music at the age of 17. He has an honest and potent song-writing style that merges singing and rapping effortlessly.
Combining her Cairo heritage and the New York City that adopted her, Felukah is a rapper and poet whose work glides between English and Arabic.
