Moroccan Rising Star Rita L’Oujdia Reviews Tul8te’s Third Studio Album

For the past 12 months, Tul8te has had the region’s music scene in a chokehold. Since last summer, the Egyptian crooner has plowed through every other ranking, sitting at the top of most of them, whilst positioning himself as the breakout act of 2024. While his 2023 debut album quietly nudged the door to the industry open, it was his sophomore project, Cocktail Ghena’y, that burst through like an impossible-to-ignore wave. And before anyone knew it, the masked artist was everywhere: name-dropped by industry giants, showered with praise from critics typically reserved with their compliments, and dissected by journalists as a cultural phenomenon rather than just another promising newcomer.

In just over a year, the Cairo-based singer-songwriter has skyrocketed from relative obscurity to become one of Arab pop’s most talked-about artists. Now comfortably mentioned alongside the very icons he once admired from a distance, nothing could have predicted the speed and magnitude of his ascent, with tracks like Habibi Leh or Mateegy A3ady Aleiky soundtracking more Instagram Stories than we can count.

Since then, Tul8te has dropped a steady stream of independent singles, expanding his sonic footprint with every release. Then came the surprise: an unannounced third studio album—an unexpected drop that somehow felt exactly like what we’d all been waiting for. Carrying the quiet pressure of following a career-defining project, Narein, the title of his latest sonic offering, is already being viewed as a make-or-break momentn, leaving many wondering whether the project will cement his place at the top or signal a rare break in his upward trajectory— though truthfully, only a few must be anticipating a misstep.

Across nine new songs—including one feature with the singer-slash-actor Amir Eid—Tul8te’s latest album arrived out of nowhere, yet feels perfectly timed. Accompanied by a short film that also serves as the visual for Habeeby Da, one of the project’s singles, most listeners are still immersed in their first, second, or even seventh listen, trying to unpack the layers of what Tul8te has been cooking up behind studio doors.

While we take our time forming our own opinions, we reached out to fellow artist Rita L’Oujdia to get her perspective—from one artist to another. Here’s what she had to say about Tul8te’s Narein.

“Narein takes us on a true musical journey, opening with flamenco and bossa nova influences which were already quite strong in his previous album.

Tul8te’s well-known dreamy nostalgia is still present throughout this new record, however, it seems like this time, everything was pushed further.

Experimentation is brought to another level, and listeners can enjoy a wider variety of sounds throughout the project from old disco and dabke to dancehall, shoegaze, afrobeats, and house music, to name just a few.

Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the genres Tul8te allowed himself to explore. As someone who loves to blend different sounds in my own music, I get really excited and appreciative when I see other artists do the same. The freedom to explore and blend while keeping your own sauce is beyond commendable, and I love the many paths Tul8te is carving out with this new album, presenting them as viable possibilities more than risks.

Overall, the vocal performance feels stronger than it was before. Songs like Ghareeb Haly really emphasize Tul8te’s vocal prowess and melodic ingenuity. The instrumentation is so well thought-out, and we can feel how much work and intention has been put into creating honest music that honors codes of the past while staying true to the present.

Only one of the 9 tracks features another artist, and the association is so well crafted that listening to it feels even more special. In Oyoun El Nas, Tul8te and Amir Eid composed a mellow, deeply touching song that sucks you in, a true time stopping track perfectly placed in the middle of the album.

The track also marks, in my opinion, the beginning of the last third of the album, which is objectively the most experimental and unexpected for the artist. The tracklist feels perfectly designed to ease the listener into this new album without feeling overwhelmed, but rather, excited. In only nine songs Tul8te managed to make us travel and forget for a while, which is possibly just what we needed for this second half of the summer.

Wahashteeny feels like the perfect song to end this journey on. It’s full of hope, it’s probably the most unexpected of all, which can only leave the listener dreaming for more. Tul8te’s riverbed vocal closes the song and the album softly singing “ مستنيكي“ (Mestaniki – I will wait for you), surrounded by a jazzy piano riff and a soft trumpet blowing in the back; as if the artist was holding his hand out, waiting for us to be ready to be carried into the next chapter.