Belgian-Moroccan Rapper Hamza Sets Sights on Francophone African Music Scene

Still little known to the general public, Hamza is nevertheless making his way and managing to touch the hearts of thousands of Internet users, in particular, on YouTube. This is evidenced by the releases of his mixtapes, "H24", in 2015, and, "1994" discovered two years later. His eclectic musical style, which gives a large place to Hip-hop (Rap, R&B, Dancehall, ...), allows him to satisfy the tastes of many music lovers and to have an audience that is growing in size.

A cosmopolitan music

Hamza demonstrated his talent recently during his concert at the "We Love Green" Festival in the Paris region. In front of a cosmopolitan audience, the young Brussels native notably presented the repertoire of his first album, released last March. An album that includes several collaborations, among others, with the French singer, Chris, the Franco-Malian rapper, Oxmo Puccino, and, especially, the new star of afro-pop, Aya Nakamura. "I really wanted to do a sound with her. Collaborations between male and female artists are rare in Hip-hop and, since we share the same label, it happened naturally," confides the protégé of the "Rec.118" stable.

On this second day of the Festival, held in the Vincennes park, Hamza, who has camouflaged himself behind white sunglasses and a cap, appeared in a simple outfit that contrasts with the "bling bling" trend that can be seen in his clips: black t-shirt, ripped jeans, white sneakers.

Hamza is full of admiration for Young Thug, an African-American rapper and native of Atlanta. He admits that he cannot escape the recurring themes of his musical style on which his song lyrics are based: money, women, drugs. However, he reassures, "what makes the difference for me are the melodies".

Here is the clip "Paradise", shot, of course, in Morocco: