Manal (singer)

“I was inspired by a lot of artists. I grew up listening to Rihanna, Beyoncé, Drake, and Lil Wayne. These artists really impacted me and impacted my way of seeing music.”

“When I started singing, it was mostly pop and love songs. Once I started doing rap, a lot of people were shocked. For those in Morocco, rap is for men, not women. I think all the criticism just made me be a stronger person.”

“We have some female rappers here in Morocco who are very strong. But I think that the thing we need more of is just helping each other out. I think that if we had more communication and more love between female artists, we’d all express ourselves more. At the end of the day, it’s music, it’s art, and it’s sharing messages.”

“I really grew up listening to international music more than Moroccan music. When I started my career, I used to write my own songs in English and French. I would never have thought that someday I would write my own songs in Arabic, because Arabic, especially the Moroccan dialect, has a lot of harsh sounds.”