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Rb Hip Hop

Egyptian Rapper Wegz Shares His Favourite Hometown Slang

The artist was recently in Toronto for his global tour and met up with Billboard Canada to answer some questions.

Wegz

Wegz

Daniel Victor Louis

Egyptian superstar Wegz kicked off the North American leg of his world tour at History in Toronto on October 25. He followed it up with another show in Montreal, at the Théâtre Beanfield on October 26. The rapper — who was Egypt’s most-streamed artist in 2022 and whose 2022 song "ElBakht" is currently No. 25 on the Billboard Arabic Hot 100 — has been on a mission to expand Egyptian rap outside of his native country.

Although Wegz has yet to release a full studio album, his name is well known throughout the Middle East, and he continues to make waves across borders. He rose to fame after his single “Dorak Gai” was released in 2020, and it now currently sits at 117 million views on YouTube. “ElBakht” remains one of Egypt’s top-streamed songs nearly two years after its release.


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Wegz’s tour began in Europe last September, cementing him as the first-ever Arab artist to have a Live Nation-backed global tour. He made sure to show some love to Toronto native RamRiddlz – a Canadian-Egyptian rapper -- by having him open both Canadian shows.

Known for his poetic and impactful lyrics, Wegz is well acquainted with the power of language, so Billboard Canada recently met up with Wegz and asked him to share some of his favourite Egyptian slang.

Watch the video below:

Video Editor: Yasseen Ashri

Videography: Ali Elmoudi

Photography: Daniel Victor Louis

Producer: Jackson Turner & Daniel Victor Louis

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H.E.R.
Steven Moran
H.E.R.
Awards

See Who Was Nominated — and Who Was Passed Over — in Oscars’ 2025 Music Categories

This is the fifth year in a row that one or more non-English language songs has been nominated for best original song.

Diane Warren received her 16th Oscar nomination for best original song on Thursday (Jan. 23) — a tally equaled by only three other songwriters in the 91-year history of the category. Sammy Cahn leads with 26 nods, followed by Johnny Mercer with 18 and Paul Francis Webster, also with 16. Warren was nominated this year this year for “The Journey,” sung by H.E.R. in The Six Triple Eight.

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