Saint Levant poses for the shoot of his upcoming album "Deira". (Credit: Pedro Damasceno @pedrose via the artist's Instagram account)
With his lips on the microphone, clad in a white tank top and exuding a confident gaze, Marwan Abdelhamid, known as Saint Levant, fuses Arabic, French and English in his lyrics. He first gained attention with his videos on social media.
He raps, sings, narrates the story of his homeland and even critiques toxic masculinity. From the start, his talent hinted at a promising future.
His stage name, reminiscent of the father of French fashion, Saint Laurent, also alludes to his homeland Palestine. His image as a modern lover boy and an appearance that defies traditional masculine norms have become his signature.
His music celebrates a diverse heritage, blending North American hip-hop with Oriental melodies and Algerian shaabi, the “popular” music of Arab-Andalusian origin.
From sex symbol to activist
Born in Jerusalem in 2000 to a French-Algerian mother and a Palestinian-Serbian father, Abdelhamid, known as Saint Levant, grew up in Gaza until 2007, when he relocated to Jordan due to the civil war.
At 17, he moved to California to pursue his studies and build a career. In November 2022, he released his single “Very Few Friends,” which marked his musical breakthrough. The song narrates a sensual romance spanning France, Morocco and Lebanon.
Saint Levant poses with the young people of a Palestinian-style village, in the company of young rapper MC Abdul, who sings with him to music from the album. (Credit: @saintlevant)
On Oct. 6, 2023, Saint Levant celebrated his 23rd birthday. The following day, his life was dramatically altered. From dreaming of offering a croissant to his beloved in Paris, he shifted to yearning for a return to the land of his childhood memories.
His Instagram account of 1.1 million followers no longer showcases the music that once enchanted his fans. Now, only images of Deira appear.
Deira is a hotel built by his father in 2000 on the coast of Gaza. Once a popular spot for foreign journalists, it was destroyed by the Israeli army a few months ago.
The family memory of the Abdelhamids faded, and the memory of the four Palestinian children killed there in 2014 reemerged.
The album is a tribute, embodying an attachment to the land and a conviction that one day they will return and rebuild. It is also the political and artistic act of a man who no longer knows where he belongs but has never lost sight of his roots.
Always with Palestine as his compass
From his childhood dream of becoming president of Palestine to his burgeoning career as an artist, Saint Levant’s entire trajectory has been dedicated to his homeland.
Abdelhamid graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Santa Barbara in California, demonstrating his eloquence and mastery of the subjects he addressed.
Gradually, he’s built a solid foundation for young people fighting for their dignity. His initiatives have strengthened the network of diaspora members with Gazan entrepreneurs.
A week before the release of his album, he launched the "Fondation 2048" scholarship, named to mark the centenary of the Nakba in Palestine. The project will provide $5,000 in funding for projects by Palestinian artists.
‘My body in Paris, my heart in Gaza’
For several weeks now, Saint Levant has been conducting a series of interviews and concerts between Paris and New York.
His appearance at the Coachella festival in California in April did not go unnoticed. As always, he did not shy away from his political convictions. Wearing a kuffiyeh and dancing the dabkeh to striking visuals from Gaza, he took to a stage not typically conducive to the expression of divisive issues.
Before his performance, the artist shared on social media that he had an altercation with a staff member over displaying the Palestinian flag.
This was not the first time Saint Levant was subversive.
Saint Levant with girlfriend Naika on stage at the Coachella festival on Saturday April 13. (Credit: @coachella via the artist's instagram)
During his speech for the 2023 “Man of the Year” prize awarded by GQ France, he declared, “I was told not to talk about Palestine if I won this prize. But first, I’m not being censored, and second, I can’t keep quiet while more than 8,000 Palestinian children are being massacred by the Israeli occupation.”
On the morning of May 25, Saint Levant announced the release of his new album, scheduled for June 9. That same evening, he was at the center of an event dedicated to Palestine held at the Arab World Institute in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. Two days later, the French daily Libération published a portrait of him.
In the hours that followed, numerous articles reported an Israeli strike that left more than 45 people dead and 249 injured in a refugee camp in Rafah. The juxtaposition of the Israeli occupation’s violence and the rise of the singer is harrowing. His voice, advocating for Palestine day after day, contends with the overwhelming horror.
The embodiment of Western(-ized) Arab youth
It is undeniable that in Europe, Saint Levant has no competition. He has filled a previously vacant space.
The artist’s commitment to the Western music scene and its musical codes while remaining faithful to Arab culture has enabled him to make a strong impression.
From a geopolitical perspective, the saturation of the Western music industry has created a drought in the Arab world, and the tension surrounding the Palestinian question has made it difficult for artists to make an impact in this ultra-cloistered public space.
Amid this overflow, Saint Levant has been able to set an artistic and political course for the children of the Arab diasporas, through the clarity of his commitment and the multiplicity of his cultural roots.
This springboard enabled him to focus on the Palestinian people and encourage his audience to support Gaza from abroad.
Cover photo from the "Deira" album showing the facade of the Deira Hotel, built by Saint Levant's father in 2000 and recently destroyed by Israeli bombing. (Credit: @saintlevant)
It’s not just a combination of favorable factors: Beyond his talent and charm, Abdelhamid was able to reinvent himself and deepen his artistic identity during the many months of war that have turned Gaza into a field of ruins.
Although he may have a dreamy side, Saint Levant has been touched by the war up close and personal. Far from being disconnected from Gaza, he is the child of his parents and their parents before them.
His ability to convey this message in multiple languages, along with his unshakeable conviction of return, places him firmly in the tradition of transmission unique to Palestinians.
“Deira” looks set to be the first project in a new phase of his career. Saint Levant recently stated on the social network X that music “was not a life project.” The artist plans to move into other fields and, perhaps, take on full political responsibilities.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour, translated by Sahar Ghoussoub and edited by Yara Malka.
