S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Born in Brazil\u2019s southern city of Porto Alegre, but with part of her family Brazilian and part Palestinian, rapper and singer-songwriter Majda Asad, known artistically as Maj, released the final three tracks of a musical work earlier this month that reflects her multifaceted identity between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Titled NUSS NUSS<\/em> \u0646\u0635 \u0646\u0635, the project consists of seven songs, with the final tracks becoming available on music apps on September 9. According to the released material, the album intertwines the singer\u2019s Brazilian and Palestinian roots, celebrating resistance and life, her heritage, her identity, and her reflections on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project\u2019s name refers to the term used by Palestinians to describe the artist when she visited the country. \u201cIn Arabic, it means half and half, referring to the fact that I\u2019m both Palestinian and Brazilian. It also represents the project itself, which is part samba, part rap, part rock, part poetry,\u201d the singer explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first song released in August 2023, titled \u201cA Cabra<\/a>\u201d (The Goat), includes lyrics that translate to \u201cI am the hunger of the West with the thirst of the East, but I\u2019m neither from here nor from there. I am both this emptiness and this wholeness.\u201d The project was born in 2020, when the artist returned from Palestine. \u201c\u2019A Cabra\u2019 came as my introduction to the world. Showing who I am, my pain, strength, and faith,\u201d she was quoted as saying in the released material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NUSS NUSS<\/em> \u0646\u0635 \u0646\u0635 project features Thomas Harres on drums, Donatinho on keys, and musicians from the Brazilian Jamaican Music Orchestra on brass, among others. In addition to \u201cA Cabra,\u201d the work includes singles like \u201cAvisa Allah,\u201d meaning \u201cTell God,\u201d featuring Syrian Palestinian singer Oula Sagheer and Palestinian musician Yousef Saif; \u201cMo\u00e7a, larga a lou\u00e7a,\u201d a rap samba in collaboration with rap MC Gabi Niaray; and \u201cIns\u00f4nia,\u201d which addresses the pains of invented romantic love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three new tracks from the album NUSS NUSS<\/em> \u0646\u0635 \u0646\u0635 are \u201cEquil\u00edbrio Estranho\u201d (Strange Balance), about real love; \u201cMonsters,\u201d which addresses motherhood in the context of the modern post-colonial world; and \u201cAinda Pulsa\u201d (It Still Pulses), a call to life and resistance, even after the pandemic or the conflict in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more:<\/em> Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\nNew tracks from the rapper\u2019s album<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Brazilian singer debuts music video filmed in Cairo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n