Rising Syrian songwriter-rapper Moh Flow talks challenges for regional artists

By Euronews

Published on 28/06/2019 - 15:59

Singer-songwriter Moh Flow is hoping to hit the big time with his most recent releases from an upcoming album called Faith.

The Syrian-born, Saudi-raised, UAE-dwelling artist is off to a decent start having recently signed with Sony Music Middle East.

The twenty-seven-year-old has played gigs in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, plus collaborated with the American rapper Pusha T.

The artist believes that his family’s nomadic start in life had a positive influence on his work.

“Not having a steady home, and maybe not having the same friends all the time, there was always something that I needed to be my base and that was always my love for music,” he told Euronews.

In recent years, Moh Flow has made a shift from rapping to singing.

He explains that he began to find the rap genre somewhat limiting for expression, whereas soulful and melodic R&B has allowed him to be more creative and emotive.

But that’s not to say Moh Flow writes romantic prose: his tracks are often hard-hitting and sprinkled with expletives. The singer maintains that using colorful language doesn’t curb his potential reach to new fans.

“Obviously, you know, the adults of the world have to monitor their young and we have to remain free to express who we are,” he says. “But, we also have to do our due diligence, and make sure that young people can consume our music if they're interested in it. We don’t want to be a bad example, or a bad role model, but both versions have to exist somewhere.”

Moh Flow adds that today there are too many barriers to entry for aspiring regional rappers, pointing to a local music industry that has an inferior infrastructure to Europe and the United States.

“Part of it is not being taken seriously and developing that talent,” he says. “So, yes, there's a lot of young talented artists coming up now but there is no sort of ecosystem for them to grow and thrive. There is no route of small shows that they get to do to gain experience, there is no upper level route.”

In a bid to beat the system and cut out middle men, Moh Flow has mostly recorded and produced his own material at home. He also formed a successful partnership with his older brother ‘AY’, who is an established music producer having worked with the 2015 winner of X Factor Middle East, Hamza Hawsawi.

The artist challenges the belief that going independent stunts sales and distribution.

“I actually think it was the best thing we could have done, because we record the same music here - that got on the same charts or playlists - as music that was recorded in a $100,000 studio,” he explains. “So, it actually gave me more of a budget to spend on marketing my music, hence why my last album was at least 6 to 7 million streams worldwide.”