Marwan Pablo
Marwan Pablo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marwan Ahmed Motawea November 22, 1995 (age 28) Alexandria, Egypt |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Hip hop |
Marwan Motawea (Arabic: مروان بابلو; born Marwan Ahmed Motawea مروان احمد مطاوع), popularly known as Marwan Pablo, is an Egyptian rapper from Alexandria. Influenced by the genre of Hip Hop, Pablo is one of the pioneers that popularizes trap music in Egypt. He is known for Free, Ghaba, El Gemeza, Sindbad, Barbary, and more.[1]
Career[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
Marwan Pablo started making music in 2015, known as Dama at the time. In late 2017, he released a single, Al Gholaf X Ozoris, under the name of Marwan Pablo in reference to Pablo Escobar and Pablo Picasso as he mentions in his single, Ctrl. Pablo began his career writing lyrics and then produced tracks as well.[2]
Pablo’s first career-driven goal was to familiarize his hometown of Alexandria with trap music.[3][4] In 2018, Pablo starred in the Rabka documentary and later in 2019 released Sindbad and Abu Mecca but most of his tracks in 2019 were collaborations with the Egyptian producer Molotof; most of Pablo’s fans believe this was his golden era, as he created musical projects in collaboration with Molotof such as El Gemeza and Free. All of these projects have made major impacts on the Rap scene in both Egypt and the entirety of the Middle East.
Hiatus[edit]
On February 14, 2020, Pablo announced that, for personal and religious reasons, he will no longer be making music.[5][6] Shortly after, he blanked his YouTube channel and Instagram account.[7] He said the main reason he retired is "the pressure that was forced on him, the different levels of expectations that people have cornered him within, and the constant labeling". He said that he needed a break to "recharge himself without being cornered".[8] On March 9, 2020, Pablo went on Instagram in response to rumors of his illness or death. He was angry over the anecdotes and denied any relation between the retirement and his health or family members.[9]
His Denamet (with Molotof) was the runner-up in Egypt's top 5 list in July 2020.[10]
Return[edit]
In January 2021, Pablo was speculated to return after his profile picture on Facebook was changed. He did not confirm his return.[11][12][13]
On 19 February, a leaked video on Twitter showcased Pablo working on a new song, preparing for his return, went viral. His name topped the trending list on Twitter that day in Egypt.[14][15]
On 25 February, Pablo released a single, Ghaba (transl. Jungle), and reactivated his social media accounts. Pablo's comeback music video gained more than 4 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours and was on the platform's top 10 trending.[16][17][18][19]
On 29 March, he announced an album named CTRL containing 5 singles Ghaba, El Hob Fein, CTRL, DON, and Atary which was a previously released unfinished song before Pablo's retirement.
Akher Qeta'a Faneya[edit]
On 28 November 2023, Pablo released his latest album, called Akher Qeta'a Faneya (The Last Piece of Art). The album follows another period of absence.
Controversies[edit]
On 1 October 2021, Pablo held a concert in New Cairo, accompanied by Palestinian rap group BLTNM members Shabjdeed, Al Nather and Shabmouri. The tickets were sold out and the concert was attended by over 26 thousand people. Shortly after the concert, the Egyptian Musicians' Syndicate banned Pablo from performing because of Shabjdeed's actions during the concert, which included changing the lyrics of a religious chant by Sayed Al Naqshabandi to welcome Pablo on stage, as well as performing songs with obscene lyrics.[20]
References[edit]
- ^ Hdeena (12 February 2020). "Egyptian Rapper, Marwan Pablo, Makes a Bold Statement in his n song "Free"". hiphopafrican.com.
- ^ Zahran, Yassin (15 May 2018). "10 Tracks to Hook you on the Egyptian Hip Hop Scene". Scene Noise.
- ^ Wefy, Hazem (2020). مروان بابلو .. العالم السفلي وموسيقى “التراپ” [Marwan Pablo ... the underworld and "trap" music]. arageek (in Arabic).
- ^ "19 Rappers Who Dominated the Game in the Middle East in 2019". SceneArabia. 26 December 2019.
- ^ Ibrahim, Khalid (18 March 2020). مروان بابلو يعلن اعتزاله الغناء: "أنا بتوب لربنا حاليا" [Marwan Pablo announces his retirement from singing: "I am repenting to our Lord now"]. Youm7 (in Arabic).
- ^ ""This is Not Up for Discussion": Marwan Pablo's Out of the Game for God". SceneNoise. 18 March 2020.
- ^ "What's Going On with Marwan Pablo? Egyptian Trap Trailblazer Deletes All Videos from His YouTube Channel". SceneNoise. 15 March 2020.
- ^ من النجاح الهائل للاعتزال المفاجئ و «التوبة».. هل يعود مروان بابلو للفن مجددا؟ [From tremendous success to sudden retirement and "repentance" .. Will Marwan Pablo return to art again?]. Akhbarak (in Arabic). 7 January 2021.
- ^ Ahmed, Youssef (14 March 2020). "Marwan Pablo, Egyptian Trap "Godfather", Quits his Music Career at 24". Egyptian Millennials.
- ^ Adel, Alaa (15 July 2020). مروان بابلو يتصدر قائمة التوب 5 رغم اعتزاله [Marwan Pablo leading the top 5 chart despite his retirement]. Al Bawaba (in Arabic).
- ^ Abdel Nasser, Gamal (8 January 2021). Marwan Pablo .. اعتزل الفن خوفا من الله ورجع بدون تبرير ويستعد لأغنية جديدة [Marwan Pablo: Quit art for fear of God; now returning and preparing for a new song, no reasons given]. Youm7 (in Arabic). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Nasser, Nehal (7 January 2021). مشوار مروان بابلو من الاعتزال المفاجئ إلي العودة الغامضة [The Journey of Marwan Pablo from Abrupt Retirement to Mysterious Return]. filfan (in Arabic).
- ^ Abdullah, Sarah (7 January 2021). عودة بعد الاعتزال.. مروان بابلو يتصدر تويتر بعد غياب طويل [Comeback after retirement .. Marwan Pablo topping Twitter after a long disappearance]. Sada El Balad (in Arabic).
- ^ "The Low Down on the Egyptian Rap Scene: Moussa Vs Abyu Beef Eclipsed by the Return of Pablo". Scoop Empire. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Rapper Marwan Pablo's latest video goes viral". لوما نيوز (in Arabic). 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Egyptian Rapper Marwan Pablo Comes Out of 'Retirement' with New Track and Video 'Ghaba'". SceneNoise. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Hammal, Marwa (25 February 2021). كليب مروان بابلو "غابة" يقترب من 2 مليون مشاهدة بعد ساعات من طرحه [Marwan Pablo's music video, Ghaba [Jungle], approaches 2m views within hours of release]. Youm7 (in Arabic). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Dosoki, Safwat (25 February 2021). مروان بابلو.. "الغابة" تعيد "بيكاسو" من الاعتزال [Marwan Pablo .. The "Jungle" brings back "Picasso" from retirement]. Al-Ain news (in Arabic).
- ^ Nasser, Nehal (25 February 2021). "غابة" أول أغنية لـ مروان بابلو بعد العودة من الاعتزال ["Ghaba" [Jungle] is Marwan Pablo's first track after coming from retirement]. Filfan.
- ^ نهال, ناصر (14 October 2021). "10 مشاهد من حفل مروان بابلو بـ"المنارة"". Retrieved 7 May 2022.