Albums of the Year Middle East & North Africa 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, the SceneNoise team looks back on a year that saw the Middle East and North Africa’s music scene stretch and evolve. From debut releases that announced vital new voices to veterans pushing, and occasionally redefining, the limits of their sound, it was a year defined by both risk-taking and quiet mastery.

Out of an overwhelming flood of releases, these are our picks for the standout albums and EPs that defined 2025.

Note: This list is organised alphabetically, not ranked, to highlight the diversity of outstanding releases from across the region.

3ala Bab El Cima - Nasser

Rising Egyptian star, Nasser, captures the bittersweet ache of waiting for a love that feels like a classic movie scene. The album is a cinematic pop-leaning journey through heartbreak and hope, weaving evocative lyrics and sweeping, mostly instrumental arrangements into catchy hooks.

Abda - Aïta Mon Amour

Centuries of Moroccan tradition collide with contemporary music in Abda, the debut album from Aïta Mon Amour. The duo of Moroccan singer, Widad Mjama, and Tunisian producer, Khalil Epi, conduct an excavation of Aïta heritage, layering the feminist poetry of the Chikhates over a gritty blend of electronic textures and industrial rock elements. Mjama’s commanding vocals meet Epi’s North African instrumentation to transform ancestral songs of resistance into something futuristic and even dancefloor-ready.

Aqareb (Side A) - Wegz

With the first half of his long-awaited debut full-length opus, Egyptian rap superstar, Wegz, is past the stage of cementing his status; instead, he’s pursuing a more personal endeavour, unconcerned with how anyone feels about it. But where most rappers would double down on trap or hip-hop conventions, Wegz instead stretches into dance-driven and globally influenced territory, weaving in Afrobeat, amapiano, and electronic pop textures rarely associated with Egyptian rap. The record boasts an expansive list of collaborators, such as Tudor Munroe, SeyiVibez, Ziad Zaza, Zuli, Savage Plug, and Tayc.

Aswat Jamila - Must Rousnam

In Aswat Jamila, Tlemcen-based producer, Must Rousnam, moves beyond the typical sounds of Rai to map Algeria’s vast musical landscape. Each of the eight tracks explores a different region, blending field recordings with electronic pulses. Rather than treating heritage like a museum piece, Rousnam uses it as a living material, proving that the country’s deepest traditions are at home in the world of experimental club music.

Ayam W Layaly - Tommy

On his debut solo EP, Ayam W Layaly, former M Town Mafia member, Tommy, charts a journey through heartbreak, self-discovery, and the tentative hope that follows. Leaning into a stripped-back, pop-infused sound first glimpsed on his take of ‘Al Rawya’, each track serves as a psychological checkpoint, moments he had to face to reach the self-awareness he carries today.

AWDA - Zeyne

Arguably her most intimate project yet, AWDA sees Palestinian-Jordanian artist, Zeyne, navigate love, pressure, and survival with fearless honesty, holding grief, pride, softness, and anger about her Arab heritage all at once. Across 13 tracks, she blends 2000s R&B and dreamy pop with Levantine instrumentation and ambient soul, crafting a rich, genre-defying soundscape that showcases her full artistic range.

BABABA WORLD - Dystinct

In BABABA WORLD, Moroccan-Belgian sensation, Dystinct, delivers a masterful 19-track sonic odyssey that positions Moroccan Darija as a global language for the dancefloor. Blending traditional Arabic melodies with a sleek, contemporary fusion of Afrobeat, Latin rhythms, and European pop, the album serves as a bridge between his cultural heritage and the international stage, featuring a roster of heavyweight collaborations with global stars like J Balvin, French Montana, and Mohamed Ramadan.

Barĩy - Maurice Louca

Egyptian composer and multi-instrumentalist, Maurice Louca, continued to dismantle the boundaries of contemporary music this year with the release of Barĩy. Moving away from the dense orchestrations of previous projects, Louca leans into a stripped-back, improvisational language where traditional Maqam structures collide with avant-garde jazz and psychedelic minimalism. It’s restless, atmospheric and captures a sense of sonic wandering that cements Louca as one of the region’s most fearless and unpredictable musical architects.

BGD - Lege-Cy

BGD arrived as a breath of fresh air in Egyptian mainstream hip-hop, cementing Lege-Cy’s position as an inimitable artist on the local scene. Across the eight-track project, he strikes a rare balance between relevance, artistry, and experimentation, leaning on rap purist instincts with boom-bap-driven beats, layered samples, and a hazy, psychedelic lo-fi atmosphere.

Cyber Alien Communication - HearThuG & Cybercafé

Released under Moroccan label, Sequence Records, Cyber Alien Communication brings together two of the most distinctive sounds in the region’s underground electronic scene: Hearthug and Cybercafé, aka Adam Dirk’heim. The four-tracker bounces effortlessly between mischievous, acidic house and retro-futuristic electronic influences, delivering two sides of a high-impact, dancefloor-oriented record.

Don't Call Me Baby - Etaf

In their debut project Don't Call Me Baby, London-based Etaf delivers a vibrant, genre-defying meditation on identity, queerness and liberation. Moving between high-energy Arabic pop and intimate acoustic moments, the album blends traditional Khaleeji percussion with alt-pop sensibilities and soulful oud melodies. From the anti-capitalist energy of ‘Fake Prada’ to the defiant reclamation of ‘Hey Habibi’, Etaf uses joy as a form of resistance, establishing themselves as a bold new voice in the Arab diaspora.

Dualism Pt.1 - 47SOUL

Serving as a tribute to the journalists reporting from Palestine amidst ongoing devastation, Dualism Pt. 1 by shamstep pioneers, 47Soul, presents a shift towards more nuanced electronic arrangements, layering electric guitar riffs and minimal percussion beneath their signature sound. By blending space-age electronics with traditional folk influences and sharp, bilingual lyricism, the band delivers a powerful, grief-stricken album that uses their trademark energy to amplify a message of survival and defiance.

En7raf - Marwan Pablo

A four-track rage rap EP that plays out like a high-speed pursuit through the darker corners of Cairo’s sonic underworld, Pablo’s En7raf is the Egyptian rapper’s only project in 2025. Produced by Hamadaboi, it sees Pablo reinvent his sound once again, this time delving into a more dystopian, darker side of rap.

EXTASIA - Ino Casablanca

Ino Casablanca’s EXTASIA delivers a genre-agnostic celebration of the multicultural Parisian street. Blending Maghrebi Raï, West African sway, and Latin rhythms with French rap cadences, the album treats geography as a toolkit for the dancefloor. From the high-tempo energy of ‘DIMA RAVE’ to the Dabke-flecked pulse of ‘EXTAZ’, Ino rejects over-analysis in favour of a singular, groove-first philosophy: stop dissecting the music and just dance.

Fragile - Tania Saleh

Lebanese artist, Tania Saleh, returned in 2025 with a poignant musical memoir documenting her forced departure from home and the reality of exile through a blend of folk, jazz and alternative rock. Highlights in Fragile include the vibrant introspection of ‘Ghasseel Dmegh’ and spoken-word identity crisis of ‘Inta Ma Shi’, examples of how the album’s delicate use of Arabic instrumentation and poetic lyricism transform fractured memories into a quest for stability.

From Erbil to Amsterdam - Chamos

Dutch-Kurdish duo, CHAMOS, bridge two worlds on their debut EP, From Erbil to Amsterdam, merging the euphoric gallop of house and bass music with traditional Kurdish melodies. Featuring everything from club-ready remixes of folk classics to Afrohouse groovers driven by the soulful notes of the Zurna flute, the album is a celebratory exploration of identity that uses the energy of the club to connect the Middle East with Europe.

Ghoyoum - Kazdoura

Ghoyoum by Toronto-based duo, Kazdoura, is a lush, psychedelic exploration of exile and heritage. Blending Syrian folk roots with dream-pop and jazz, the album translates the weight of displacement into a genre-fluid journey that is as politically sharp as it is sonically serene.

Gnent L B2r - Abyusif

Gnent L B2r is part nostalgic, part forward-looking, but pure Abyu-core. The tracks give us glimpses of the gritty, self-assured energy of his early SoundCloud era, which helped define a golden age of Egyptian rap. He blends his conscious hip-hop mindset and rapid-fire bars with introspective lyrics that dive deeper into his psyche, with little regard for commercial polish.

Greater Than One - Shkoon

Syrian-German duo, Shkoon, evolved the four tracks of Greater Than One through live collaborations, resulting in an EP that balances melodic techno with a raw, human vulnerability. The project centres on resilience and spiritual connection, weaving together groovy basslines, soulful violin strings and traditional Sufi chants that move the album from hypnotic, trance-inducing melodies to intimate, slow-tempo reflections.

Habibi Loops Vol. II - Swag Lee

Egyptian producer, ZULI, revived his mischievous alter ego for Habibi Loops Vol.2, a glitchy sonic collage stitched from degraded MP3 rips of Egyptian funk and pop classics. The record isolates micro-moments of vocals and jagged percussion, creating grooves that constantly teeter on the edge of collapse. Punctuated by satirical interludes from Arabic social media, the album is a forward-thinking homage, exploration and experimental dive into the tension of the loop, turning familiar cultural sounds inside out with a crooked, playful charm.

7ASHARA - Billy Tstrk

In his debut LP, 7ASHARA, Lebanese producer and rapper, Billy Tstrk, delivers a frantic portrait of Arab youth flickering between ecstasy and exhaustion, blending DIY rap with twitchy, club-oriented production to map the malaise of Beirut’s urban life. It is a raw, unfiltered reportage from the edge of a generation trying to outdance its own collapse.

I Remember I Forgot - Yasmine Hamdan

Born from an eight-year hiatus and a deep personal rewiring, Yasmine Hamdan’s I Remember I Forgot is an unfiltered reclamation of the Lebanese artist’s creative voice. While initially conceived as a private journey toward healing, the music eventually expanded into a mirror for the collective heartbreak of a region. The record inhabits a moody, cinematic space where delicate electronics and spectral oud textures drift around her intimate vocal performance. Hamdan creates a sanctuary that navigates the tension between displacement and belonging, ultimately finding harmony within the chaos of memory.

Khamsa Haqeeqa - Rozzma

After five years away from music - a period defined by fatherhood, the isolation of COVID-19 and a deepening sense of cultural reclamation - Rozzma returned almost unannounced with Khamsa Haqeeqa. The record feels like a cross between a wailing fire engine and a high-speed chase through Cairo, driven by an unpredictable meld of different musical styles and Rozzma’s vocal delivery. By grounding his rave bass energy in a newfound personal perspective, the album asserts itself as an unapologetic manifesto of music and personal evolution.

Kitbashing - Abdir

Abdir’s Kitbashing is a post-club snapshot of the algorithmic age, built from the detritus of social media feedback loops. Across seven tracks, the Berlin-based Egyptian producer warps Instagram reels and sponsored ads into jagged hard-dance bursts and experimental fragments. The result is a barrage of micro-edits and hyperactive rhythms that feel abrasive on impact, yet remain tightly controlled and unmistakably musical.

Kol 7aga OK - Double Zuksh

Although it’s the Mahragant duo’s debut album, Kol Haga Ok solidifies Double Zuksh’s status in Egypt’s music scene as one of the most unique acts. Across ten tracks, the duo moves between different styles and sounds, breaking free from the mahraganat box with lyrical edge, wordplay, and noticeably refined production and flows.

Laini Taini - Nadah El Shazly

The sultry energy of Cairo nights stretching toward dawn fuels Nadah El Shazly’s sophomore album, Laini Tani. Moving away from the avant-garde shadows of her earlier work, the Egyptian artist embraces a more luminous, pop-inflected sound while maintaining her experimental instincts. Co-produced with 3Phaz, the record is anchored in a kinetic blend of scorched electronics and heavy bass, softened by the dreamlike presence of Sarah Pagé’s harp and classical improvisation. The tracks unfold as vignettes of euphoria and introspection, resulting in an album that balances intensity and depth.

Love Letters (Deluxe) - Saint Levant

Saint Levant’s Love Letters / رسائل حب (Deluxe Edition) is a vibrant tapestry of trilingual pop that seamlessly bridges the gap between 1980s Arab nostalgia and contemporary R&B. Expanding on the original Valentine's Day release, the deluxe version introduces four standout tracks—including the infectious mahraganat-infused ‘Do You Love Me? / سنيورة’—that solidifies the project's status as a definitive cultural bridge.

MAGNÜN - Lella Fadda

With her debut album MAGNÜN, Lella Fadda completes a transformation from indie dreamer to rap protagonist. Guided by Abyusif’s industrial, glitch-infused production, the 11-track project is a sharp reclamation of narrative that trades vulnerability for bravado. Moving between the charisma of ‘U8’ and the haunting of ‘Bt7lm’, Lella navigates surrealist instrumentals with a detached, clinical confidence that ignores convention.

MALAL - LAÏ

LAI’s debut MALAL is a rage-fuelled odyssey that captures the rawness of detachment, suppressed anger and the self-resilience of powering through it all. Throughout the album, the Lebanese artist spirals through hyperpop highs and moments that sting as much as they set you free, from the Arabic-Spanish fusion of ‘WAJA3’, featuring HANIMAMI, to the dreamlike haze of ‘El Madi’, and the grungy vibes of ‘MSH FERE2LE’.

Marsam - Hady Moamer

After a decade of shaping the sound of others, Hady Moamer stepped into the spotlight in 2025 with his first purely instrumental project, Marsam. The two-disc, 15-track album lets his production speak for itself, finding a unique balance between the frenetic and the meditative. From reimagining Sufi chants as dance-floor anthems to weaving melancholic piano themes that resurface like recurring memories, the record is rooted in the street life of Cairo, yet reaches toward a futuristic horizon.

Maryam - Faraj Suleiman

Palestinian composer and pianist, Faraj Suleiman, explores the stark emotional contrast of life before and after the onset of war in Maryam. Developed alongside collaborator Amer Hlahel, the 10-track project pivots from themes of love and energy into a sombre, experimental narrative of grief. Through folk-inspired instrumentation and raw vocals, Suleiman captures the pain of longing and existential loss, creating an intimate record that documents a creative process inside chaos.

MHD Mounir - Bu Kolthoum

A creative rebirth defines Bu Kolthoum’s five-track EP, MHD Mounir, a project that sees the Syrian-born artist reclaiming his birth name while pivoting toward the grit of sample-heavy hip-hop. The record acts as a confrontation with reality, shifting from brassy anthems of self-assertion to raw, maqam-inspired trap that explores isolation and fate. Alternating between Arabic verses and melodic English flows, the album is an unflinching story of survival.

Moslsl Turk - TURK

A fully-fledged conceptual trilogy, MSOLSL TURK sees masked Egyptian rapper TURK enter a new experimental electronic phase, opening up about his prolonged struggle with treachery and mistrust. The album is a drastic sonic shift from his previous record, Zhymer, as he strikes back against his frienemies with force, spitting sharp bars with unconventional flow over left-field hip-hop and IDM.

Nafida - Small X

Moroccan heavyweight, Small X, trades the high-velocity drill of his early career for a more contemplative, atmospheric tone on Nafida. A soulful collaboration with lo-fi producer, Saib, the seven-track EP functions as a window into a creative retreat, blending elements of jazz, funk and boom-bap.. Prioritising texture and inspiration over the usual standards of modern rap, the project embraces a stripped-back realism and breathy delivery, showing mature evolution for the rapper.

Narein - Tul8te

Tul8te’s Narein fuses Arabic pop with flamenco and bossa nova, further expanding on the nostalgic 2000s pop sound of his 2024 breakthrough Cocktail Ghena’y. Across nine tracks, he navigates love, heartbreak, and longing with cinematic flair, from the rumba-tinged title track to the stripped-back ‘Heseeny’. Emotionally rich and sonically adventurous, Narein cements Tul8te as one of contemporary Arabic pop’s most compelling voices.

Ninety Nine Eyes - Yunis

Building on his reputation for deconstructing traditional Egyptian folklore, Kafr El-Dawar-born producer Yunis’ Ninety Nine Eyes functions as a 31-minute ritual that reconstructs Zar and Takhmira traditions within an experimental, trance-based framework. Structured like a Sufi Hadra, the record moves from the tense, microtonal panoramas into maximalist synth storms, both of which equally trace collective memory and spiritual energy.

No Smoking Allowed - Narcy

In No Smoking Allowed, Narcy and Buddha Blaze strip hip-hop to its chassis, replacing glossy production with a jagged, minimalist grit. The album bypasses easy nostalgia to confront the fractured reality of the Iraqi diaspora and the tightening grip of global surveillance through dense, stream-of-consciousness delivery. Using the 1976 Montreal Biosphere fire as its visual anchor, the project frames the collapse of Western architectural symbols as a necessary clearing - an act of creative destruction that demands the building of something visceral and autonomous from the wreckage.

October 6th - EL Rass

El Rass takes a notably more direct approach in October 6th, delving into the profound implications of life before October 7th - the day of Al Tofan - and the irreversible transformation of the world that followed. As always, El Rass’ lyrics are layered with intricate references and metaphors, contextualising October 7th across religious, economic, political and social dimensions. His words resist easy interpretation, revealing deeper understanding with every listen, as each layer unfolds between the lines.

Oudyssey - Yad Oud

Cloaked behind a black cyberpunk mask, Bahraini virtuoso, Yad Oud, has spent years viral-proofing the oud through pop reinterpretations - but his debut full-length album, Oudyssey, steers the instrument toward an entirely original soundscape. The twelve-track album sheds the cover artist label for a cinematic fusion of Khaleeji emotional depth and space-age soundscapes. Throughout the record, the oud acts as a vessel for storytelling, as traditional microtones meet ethereal production, resulting in a meditative exploration of identity and anonymity that proves the instrument is not just a relic of the past.

Rap Sharq El Nahr - El Far3i

Palestinian-Jordanian artist, El Far3i, pays homage to the rap of Amman with Rap Sharq El Nahr, a fourth solo album that reaffirms his mastery as both a singer and rapper. The record is a definitive homecoming, reuniting El Far3i pioneers like The Synaptik, Musallam, and B – Khutta B. Co-produced alongside Wordnklf, the album sharpens the raw, melodic edge found in classics like Far’ Al-Madakhel, delivering a powerful tribute to Amman’s scene that is as much about community as it is about his signature sound.

Re7la - Sintax

With his comeback EP, Re7la, Sintax reinvents himself through an eclectic collision of Afro-house and Sa’idi folk. By weaving traditional mizmar and driving tabla percussion with melodic vocal cuts, the three-track project pushes his artistry into uncharted waters. Featuring bold collaborations with El Far3i and Sarah Moullablad, Re7la reveals a new dimension of Sintax as both a versatile vocalist and producer.

Reinsterado 2.0 - Morad

Reinsertado 2.0 is a high-octane expansion that solidifies the Moroccan rapper, Morad, as a dominant rap voice. The seven-track project sharpens his signature sound with global influences, featuring international collaborations with Gazo, Baby Gang, and Dei V. Driven by the viral success of the football-inspired anthem ‘Lamine’, the album balances gritty storytelling with infectious Afro-trap rhythms, marking a bold evolution.

Ripe - Postcards

Beirut-based band, Postcards, capture the tension of their home city in their latest album, Ripe. Drawing on the raw grit of 2010s soft-grunge, the album soundtracks a youth defined by cigarettes, late-night spirals and the cycle of destruction and rebuilding. From the scuffed-up nostalgia of ‘I Stand Corrected’ to the brooding, cinematic distortion of ‘Poison’, the production mirrors the heartbreak and resilience of a region on edge.

Sametou Sawtan - SANAM

In their sophomore album, Sametou Sawtan, Beirut-based band, SANAM, push avant-rock and free jazz into sprawling, haunted eruptions of sound. Reframing Arabic folk through a lens of ‘devotional noise’, the record processes the psychological toll of displacement and the distance felt even when staying in place. From jittery drone-rock to reinterpreted 12th-century poetry, the album captures a band wrestling with the present by turning tradition into futuristic, defiant energy.

Tarnished - Hassan Abou Alam

Cairo-based producer, Hassan Abou Alam, returned to Moroccan imprint, Casa Voyager, this year with Tarnished, a collection of four dystopian club cuts that showcase his razor-sharp edge. The EP plunges into a terrain of metallic percussion and coarse textures, that create a visceral, warehouse energy. Beneath the abrasive surface, there is a brutal beauty in the intricate precision and bassy manipulation of tabla. The project rewards repeat listens with its layered design, cementing Abou Alam as one of the most exciting architects in the electronic landscape.

The Man Who Lost His Heart - Marwan Moussa

The Man Who Lost His Heart is Marwan Moussa’s most expansive and intimate statement yet. Spanning 23 tracks, the album is forged in loss, tracing the Egyptian rapper’s passage through grief following his mother’s death. Along the way, Moussa assembles a sharp roster of collaborators including Afroto, Donia Wael, El Waili, Karim Osama, and Lege-Cy, while stretching his sound across drill and trap into quieter, ambient spaces and bare-bones melodic confessions.

TUMBLRR - ZAF

Channelling Tumblr’s early-2010s aesthetics, anonymous rapper ZAF quietly turned heads with TUMBLRR. Spanning 17 tracks, the album is purist Egyptian rap in peak form, darting between subgenres with the ease of a seasoned shapeshifter, propelled by sharp, biting bars and sly wordplay that’s left listeners fixated on one question: who is ZAF?

unsure - Postdrone

Since emerging from Egypt’s experimental scene, Postdrone has established a unique voice through immersive, ambient sound design that defies fleeting trends. His 2025 eight-track release, unsure, marks an evolution, shifting from the insular nature of his previous work to a sound more grounded in collective reality. While the album retains the industrial, distorted textures of his earlier work, it introduces more intimate musical markers that allow the production to glitter rather than grind. It is a well-paced, uninhibited project that invites listeners into a world of atmospheric uncertainty.

Villain Bala Cause - Blu Fiefer

Lebanese-Mexican artist, Blu Fiefer, delivers a cinematic audio-visual project that reimagines the classic villain origin story as a path to self-mastery. Structured like a screenplay, Villain Bala Cause moves from the dark confidence of ‘Ekhir Hamme’ to the defiant, anti-westernisation statement of ‘Ktir Jaw’, charting a high-concept reclamation of power that blends experimental electronic pop with a villain era aesthetic to prove that survival requires writing your own rules.

Wedyan - Adonis

A decade into their journey, Lebanese quartet, Adonis, move beyond their anthemic pop-rock comfort zone, into more introspective somberness with their seventh studio album, Wedyan. Translating to ‘valleys’, the record balances a quiet, deliberate stillness with sweeping choruses. In grounding the songwriting in lyrics that explore resilience and the passage of time, the project captures a difficult era, though suggesting that the band’s most experimental work yet might also be their most resonant.

We Live In Sand - Snakeskin

Born from the wreckage of the Beirut Port explosion, Snakeskin - the collaborative project of Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal - reached its rawest point on their third album, We Live in the Sand. Driven by the recent expansion of war into Lebanon, the duo trades their signature dream-pop for a sound defined by urgent shoegaze and fractured electronic textures. Moving between frantic, industrial atmospheres and sorrowful, minimal sketches, the album is a work of uncompromising authenticity that finds subtle sparks of resilience within the grief.

Wiretaps for Oral - Saint Abdullah, Jason Nazary

The latest collaboration between Iranian-Canadian siblings, Saint Abdullah, and jazz drummer Jason Nazary, is a surrealist collage of sound and fury. It weaves together radio fragments, Sufi chants, and jagged free jazz to document a world caught between improvisational beauty and the heavy machinery of state oppression.

Zaman El Fan El Gameel - Seif Mrdeny, Riff

Backed by Riff’s eclectic production, Zaman El Fan El Gameel channels the energy of an Egyptian shaabi wedding without ever feeling clichéd. The rising artists experiment with the genre’s roots, weaving in rap-leaning elements and pushing its boundaries into unexpected territories. The EP cements Mrdeny as an artist with a clear, deliberate vision, one that resonates across his music, collaborations, and visual identity.