advertisement
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.


advertisement

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

advertisement
Wild Rivers
Weird Candy

Wild Rivers

Music

New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Wild Rivers, Sylo and Four CanRock Reissues From Record Record Label

Also out this week are new albums from Métis singer-songwriter Electric Religious, veteran composer-keyboardist Doug Wilde and shoegaze artist numb talking.

There's a summery slate of new albums from Canadian artists, including Never Better, the third full-length from hotly-tipped and Juno-nominated folk-rock trio Wild Rivers released on indie label powerhouse Nettwerk. Wild Rivers broke through in 2023 with their breakout single, “Thinking ‘Bout Love,” which is certified Gold in the U.S. and Australia and Platinum in Canada andthe recipient of over 800 million global streams. An extensive summer/fall North American tour is launching with dates at The Calgary Folk Festival (July 26), Osheaga (Aug. 2) and the Edmonton Folk Festival (Aug. 10). See the full itinerary here.

keep readingShow less
advertisement