The Best North African Songs Right Now: August 2025 Edition
From Elmiene’s Sudanese soul to Dranagov’s Moroccan rap, this month’s list features summer’s last romantic tracks with a fresh turn towards more timeless music.
As summer continues across North Africa, the region’s primary musical themes are romance and partying. These topics can easily get old or repetitive, unless you have Sudanese soul singer Elmiene’s talent to sing about absolutely anything, Moroccan ABIR’s vocal range, or Egyptian pop-sensation TUL8TE’s magic touch.
While there’s no shortage of new music releases, it does feel like creativity is waning in the final summer months. Here are the most notable new tracks that have recently emerged from North Africa and its diaspora.
Elmiene - “Useless (Without You)” (Sudan, UK)
Sudanese British soul singer Elmiene teases his new mixtape Heat The Streets, out September 5 via Polydor/Def Jam Recordings, with “Useless (Without You).” With his silky voice, he sings a simple but powerful vocal line over an early 2000s R&B beat, turning the memory of Elmiene laughing at himself as a child into a love song and paying homage to a genre that continues to strongly influence his music.
Guedra Guedra, Foulane Bouhssine - “Tamayyurt” (Morocco)
Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak, aka Guedra Guedra, is gearing up to release MUTANT, an album of carefully sculpted dance rhythms that he creates with analogue synths and drum machines, which he blends with percussive fragments and field recordings from across Africa. “Tamayyurt,” (“full moon” in Amazigh) is a collaboration with Amazigh singer Foulane Bouhssine, built around his meditative chanting and the rebab. The track is inspired by the cultural practice of Amazigh collective dance and music called Ahwach.
TUL8TE - “Heseeny” (Egypt)
Egypt’s pop-sensation TUL8TE returns with Narein, an album that continues to tap into the romantic sound that has catapulted him to regional heights in only two years. The artist tells the story of love from its passionate inception to eventual heartbreak. On track three, “Heseeny,” Egyptian pop meets flamenco as TUL8TE calls for a deep emotional connection and love that brings peace.
Draganov - “Tach” (Morocco)
Moroccan rap icon Draganov continues to impress his fans with standout releases this year. In his latest, “Tach,” he uses his signature humor to reflect on hustling, loyalty and the search for meaning in chaos. Over a busy soundscape of acoustic guitar, successive percussion, and flute synths, he delivers a solid flow.
Saint Levant, Babylone - “Samra” (Algeria, Palestine)
Palestinian Algerian Saint Levant releases a deluxe edition of his album Love Letters, adding four extra songs and expanding his collaborations across North Africa. “Samra,” with Algerian singer Babylone, is a typical, heartfelt Algerian ballad on which the two sing their love for a woman over soft percussion, the kamanga, and a choir.
The C!rcle ft. G-Salih, AKA Keyz, Eaz Da Bully - “Loving You” (Sudan, US, UK)
Sudanese diaspora artists G-Salih, AKA Keyz, and Eaz Da Bully of The C!rcle release “Loving You,” a timeless hip-hop collaboration that takes us back to the glorious days of classic hip-hop beats and hard-hitting flows. The track’s atmospheric production and West Coast synths, catchy hook, and philosophical lyrics are the perfect soundtrack for summer’s last long days, remembering that “Love cannot distract you from what’s loving you.”
ABIR - “Nothing New” (Morocco, US)
With “Nothing New,” California-based Moroccan singer ABIR drops her last teaser before releasing her comeback album The Game on September 10. Admitting that no one in her family likes her lover, she sings about staying in a toxic relationship regardless, because it’s easier to face the familiar than the new. The production is simple with a heavy beat, but as usual, the song is carried by ABIR’s standout vocals.
Felukah - “danger” (Egypt, US)
Egyptian American songstress Felukah likes to try out new genres and personas, but she always returns to her early rap roots. After extensive ventures into hyper-pop and dance music, her latest release, “danger,” is an assurance that the poet is alive and well, and that Felukah loves a little braggadocio to champion the messages she believes in. Over an Arabic-scale vocal line, she reflects on life in Egypt and the U.S. in her signature bilingual rap flows.
SKY, Massine - “Tarif” (Morocco, Belgium)
Moroccan Belgian rapper and trap artist SKY teams up with Massine for “Tarif,” the third track on SKY’s album Venu du Pays, on which he explores his mixed cultural heritage and love for his homeland through French rap and North African rhythms. On “Tarif,” the two trade verses in catchy vocal lines over Afrobeats-inspired percussion and guitar chords.
Hady Moamer - “Barbary (Remix)” (Egypt)
Egyptian producer Hady Moamer reimagines Marwan Pablo’s hit “Barbary” in a dark, cinematic remix that takes listeners through a journey of trap beats, instrumentals, and chopped-up skits of Pablo’s vocals. Keeping the original track’s atmospheric soundscape, Moamer adds both urgency through electronic elements and playfulness through ethereal Arabic vocals, crafting a song that can stand on its own.
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