EMEL

Since her debut in 2011 with Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free), a track which became a hymn to freedom in the middle of the Arab Spring, Emel has not stopped releasing revolutionary albums, where she collaborated with the composer behind Björk and Sigur Rós. Her fourth album, MRA, which means “woman” in Arabic, is a pop, world, electro manifesto for female emancipation. That’s why every single collaborator on MRA, from producers and featured artists to musicians and beyond, is a woman, marginalized in recognition but outsized in ability. The result is a multi-genre meld where African trap, batucada, Arabic reggaeton, hip-hop, and drum-and-bass rub shoulders seamlessly with vibrant melodies and empowering lyrics. Emel has come a long way. She has established herself as an avant-garde artist on the international scene, delivering groundbreaking performances such as being invited to sing at the Nobel Prize ceremony and collaborating with artists like Valgeir Sigurðsson, Tricky, Barbara Pravi, Bachar Mar-Khalifé, and Vitalic, and most recently with Acid Arab on the song Lose My Mind, from her latest album MRA.