The Top North African Songs Right Now: September 2025 Edition

Summer’s heat is loosening its tight grip over North Africa, and artists are returning to the cities from a potent creative period, ready to release longer projects that invite audiences into intricate soundscapes of North African life or explorations of global fusion. Most tracks in this list are taken from newly dropped albums that are worth a full listen.

Marwan Moussa - “matador” (Egypt)

When Egyptian rap icon Marwan Moussa spoke to OkayAfrica about his new album, The Man Who Lost His Heart in May, he said that he’d had enough of sad music and was ready to drop an ego song. Only three months later, he released another album, MATADOR, and its eponymous track delivers just that: Moussa’s ability to flow with confidence and humor.

MazMars, XHY - “Geddi” (Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia)

Sudanese singer MazMars teams up with emerging Saudi Ethiopian singer and songwriter XHY for “Geddi,” the kind of feel-good Afro-inspired track that has become MazMars’ specialty. Mixing his signature Arabic vocal lines with XHY’s bi-lingual delivery, the two effortlessly connect over piano chords, percussion, and trumpets in a clean production.

Youssra El Hawary - “Douri” (Egypt)

On the Taraddud EP, her first release since her 2017 debut No’oum Nasyeen, Egyptian songwriter and sound designer Youssra El Hawary blends field recordings of Cairo with jazz, folk, and ambient music. The first of three long tracks, “Douri” takes listeners on a journey through El Hawary’s perception of her maddening and transfixing hometown.

Amaka Jaji - “Samrat Al Ain” (Libya)

Libyan singer Amaka Jaji releases the melancholic “Samrat Al Ain,” a slow-paced track built around simple piano chords, synthscapes, and daf percussion that shines through Jaji’s powerful vocal line. In the music video, he introduces a new visual identity that moves away from the focus on Libya in his debut album and offers a more intimate view of the artist himself.

ABIR - “Holy Water” (Morocco, US)

Moroccan-born, Los Angeles-based singer ABIR has been releasing her sophomore album, The Game, which was released this month. The album takes listeners through the highs, heartbreaks, and self-revelations that shape love, showing how the relationships we allow are often tied to what we believe we deserve. On “Holy Water,” a minimalist track which, as always, impresses with her vocals, she finally tells her lover that she’s not coming home.

Hady Moamer - “Enta” (Egypt)

Grammy-nominated Egyptian producer Hady Moamer releases Marsam, a two-disc album of fast-paced rhythms and experimental productions that blend global influences with Arabic vocal samples, Sufi chants, and live instruments. “Enta” is a dreamy percussion-led synthscape with looping vocals that will transport you to an alternate reality.

Saha Gnawa - “Soudani Manayou” (Morocco, US)

Ahead of the release of their eight-track song cycle, NYC-based ensemble Saha Gnawa brings North African futurism to new audiences. Co-led by Maâlem Hassan Ben Jaafer and drummer Daniel Freedman, Saha Gnawa pairs Moroccan Gnawa with NYC jazz and groove to explore spirituality through sound. “Soudani Manayou” is one of the ancestral songs they perform, inviting audiences into a trance that promises healing and release.

Abo El Anwar - “Ya Donia” (Egypt)

Egyptian rapper Abo El Anwar is diversifying his sonic palette; his melodic, contemplative track “Ya Donia” sharply pivots from his last rage rap release “Eh Ya Andal.” On “Ya Donia,” he elongates the summer a little bit by the Mediterranean sea and contends with the world and life itself.