Looking for a finals season break? Head on over to the 9:30 Club on December 12th to experience Saint Levant’s multilingual hip-hop and R&B show.
This Palestinian rapper infuses his music with tones and rhythms of the Arab world, bringing in French and English lyrics to provide listeners a vocal trip into Arab culture. Though active in the industry beforehand, producing political raps and videos on TikTok focusing on the Palestinian experience, Saint Levant burst onto the scene in 2022 with the release of his song, “Very Few Friends.” This trilingual piece exudes sexiness through its lyrics (a theme that does not go away throughout his discography, trust).
In 2023, Saint Levant released “From Gaza with Love,” a song that on the surface expresses the intention to woo a love interest, but with lyrics that express Palestinian strength and fortitude in the face of a genocide perpetrated by the state of Israel. His socio-political commentaries are woven into a beautiful instrumental reminiscent of early-2000s R&B and slow drumming on the Darbuka, a classic form of Arabic percussion. Saint Levant signs this piece off as an homage to his homeland of Gaza, where he spent much of his early life.
This honoring of Palestinian culture continues in his latest release tour focus album DEIRA, produced in 2024, whose namesake evokes imagery of the Hotel Deira that his father designed and operated in Al-Rimal, Gaza City. This building has since been destroyed in bombings by the IDF in recent months. Honoring this homeland and his personal history of moving throughout the Arab world, eventually to Jordan before moving to Los Angeles, this album speaks of the Palestinian experience at home and abroad. In the titular song “Deira”, he infuses the Chaabi style of Algeria with his lyrics, paying homage to the multilateral Arab experience.
If you’re in the mood to experience the unique sounds and styles of the Arab world and in homage to the Palestinian experience, make sure to join me at the 9:30 Club this December 12th. Whether at the balcony overlooking the stage, or enjoying standing room directly in front of the stage, Saint Levant’s experience will be heard and enjoyed all around.
Tickets are currently sold-out, but check out more from 9:30 club here!
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