Felukah and DJ Habibeats’ Ambition Without A Breakthrough

Felukah and DJ Habibeats’ Hayati attempts to arrive at a cross-cultural understanding of Egyptian lyrics and American rapping/R&B—but the song can only be described as nice, as the elements don’t bring something truly new and interesting to the table. Rather, they feel like Egyptian words inserted into a track of typical American background beats.

The instrumentals start the song, pulling the listener in without forewarning in a satisfactory way. Then, after the producer tags, the background music rapidly fades and picks up with the vocals. It’s a timeless approach and one that fits this song. All throughout the song, the instrumentals and vocals not only accompany but complement one another without drowning each other out. 

However, the first line of vocals marked the end of the more impressive parts of this song. The song includes a lot of echo and whisper elements that feel done and redone; nothing new is being brought through the use of these. And while the use of these elements is not jarring, it feels almost as though they were thrown in simply because they don’t subtract from the music, not purposefully, they add anything new. 

In contrast, I must appreciate the singer’s voice itself. The expressions in it, especially during “فهمت لغز الدنيا وأنت ما صدقت” which translates roughly to “I understood the mystery of the world, and you did not believe it,” excellently provides the listener with a sense of yearning for connection. Also, the pauses on the off-beats between lyrics add a level of nuance to the song that suits Felukah’s voice very well, as her singing is quite crisp and flows smoothly; however, I wonder how much of this can be attributed to autotune. One good thing that can be said about the song is that the lyrics feel like a marriage between an old message and a newer style of music.

However, the production of the song feels very monotonous, having settled into a flat, unchanging tone from the beginning to almost the end. There aren’t many variations in the vocals, and while I can appreciate the poetic lyrics, this is not mirrored in the music, and the impact of the lyrics is muted. The artist could have included some sampling choices that brought more of a remarkable feel to the song, introducing new percussive patterns or something else that is uniquely Egyptian. 

Moreover, the bilingual approach in the lyrics is a great concept that could have been executed in a way that amplified the message. However, as someone who is not fluent in the language, the English translation doesn’t relay the message as well as the original lyrics. 

Overall, I feel the concept that was envisioned was brought in bits and pieces to the eventual product. The lyrics blend the two cultures in their poeticism, but lack importance in their bilingualism. There could have been some interesting sampling choices made that weren’t. Overall, while it is a nice attempt, this song lacks what we expected to be a more successful marriage between Egyptian and American music.