Moroccan Singer Latifa Raafat Reveals Career Advice from Late King Hassan II

Latifa Raafat, in an interview with Al3omq, confided that the late Hassan II advised her to focus on Moroccan song when she tried to interpret Oriental songs. According to her, the late king also asked her to take up the old works he liked to listen to. The singer claims to have tried to follow the advice of the late Hassan II since the beginning of her artistic career, choosing to pursue it in Morocco, unlike some colleagues who settle abroad. Unlike some singers, she claims not to have suffered from the question of the preference given to foreign artists during artistic encounters, whether materially or morally. She says she has benefited from the assistance in the management of her affairs with the treatment she deserves, whether in Morocco or abroad.

When asked about wearing the veil and her withdrawal from the music scene, Latifa Raafat believes that the veil is not reserved for artists and that women who decide to wear it benefit from God’s favor. The idea of her withdrawal from the music scene is conceivable at some point, "but if my passion for singing persists, I don’t think I will be a burden to the public," she says.

Regarding the delay in the release of her musical works, Raafat explained that her working method differs from that of young artists. She says she has been in the habit since her debut of releasing a musical work per year, while these young artists prefer to release a musical work every 3 or 4 months, which she finds difficult to do. She also justified her absence from the music scene in recent years by the Covid-19 pandemic, her pregnancy, and the birth of her only daughter, Elmass, in 2019, as well as the lack of festivals. "My absence was a personal decision, and I was not excluded as many artists have claimed. After my participation in the 19th edition of the Mawazine Rythmes du Monde Festival, I decided to devote my time to my daughter Elmass, while I used to devote the entire summer before her birth to giving concerts," she added.

The singer also confided that she and her husband had decided to keep their only daughter, Elmass, away from the limelight until she reaches an age where she can make important decisions in her life on her own. "I fear that in the future, she will not want to be a well-known personality and that she will blame me for it. Elmass loves to sing, but I will not encourage her to enter this field, because the circumstances today are different from what they were in the golden age. I hope she will pursue her studies and choose a specialization far from the artistic world."