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news time! a short selection of links to all things going on in the music biz:

feels like putting your head inside a tumble dryer a little bit

this is unironically one of my favourite songs

i feel like this song was written 50 years ago and it was seared into my soul forever more

good morning everyone and welcome back to an issue that is ever so slightly different. you see, this week we’re doing a double bill! i’ve sort of decided this in the fly, but also realised i can, so i will, so here we are. this week, i’m not only reviewing a song but also! that same song played live at a gig. sort of going out on a limb here assuming they’ll play this as i’m on my way to the gig as i write this, but i reckon the odds are good. anyway, meet felukah an egyptian rapper and pop star, one of a scene that’s been starting to find traction over the last few years and one i have an inkling will make some big waves in the near future. the song we’ll be reviewing is called cleopatra, and the gig is at club cheek in brixton!

this is such a fun big energy song. one of those tracks that can only be described as bombastic, a balls to the wall big number. everything from the gnarly guitars and the half tempo beat punctuated by the biggest possible bass sound. it’s a track that does all it can to really come out swinging. the lyrics then meet this tempo with some really fun, potentially a bit silly but certainly on-message lines. what’s more, the chorus in this really hits it’s both super catchy and fits perfectly, while also maintaining a really lovely contrast to the main instrumentation. this makes it hit really hard when it comes in as you hear this performers gorgeous singing voice turn the song on a dime.

at the gig, this artist really found their feet a few songs in once they were joined by a pair of dancers, unveiling what was well over half a set of tightly organised choreo. it was fun, interesting and created some really sick scenes that felt like we were in a music video. not only that, but the performer herself felt a lot more confident once they joined, taking what had been a slightly nervous performance into it’s own space and confidence.

by and large i think this song really really works, but one thing i do find very frustrating about it is it’s exceptionally short. coming in at a little over 2 minutes, we barely have enough time to get all of the ideas out, there’s no sort of bridge or middle 8 to develop them or contrast them with something else. i know that’s a bit of a trait of hip hop but it feels like a little lost opportunitiy. what makes this song work so well is that the contrast coming into the chorus is so powerful, having an opportunity to work that and play with it is a huge miss in my opinion.

thankfully when this was being played live this wasn’t an issue, this performer was whistling through tracks left and right. i thought some of the set list could’ve been better staged together, for example there were a few instances where the backing track started to play only for the performer to ask the sound person to stop it so they could talk. it really broke the flow of the set and yet when the backing was playing and they were talking a bit those moments really worked. essentially, what i’m saying is less talking more rapping, but also, have some interludes queued up.

there’s a bit where they rap in arabic and then into english in one flow and it rips it sounds so so cool

i really felt like this song needed a good parallel that matched the intention of the track, more so than the execution. i also really wanted to avoid comparing them to an artist in the same genre and from the same place, because i think that’s kinda lazy not to @ me directly. for these reasons and more, even cooler reasons, i actually think the best comparison is starburster by fontaines d.c. which really hits a lot of that same energy and power.

so something of an outlier with our acts here, in that this is an artist with quite a history already. there’s a ton of tracks for you to sink your teeth into, and boy does it run a gambit. you’ve got hip hop and pop, soul, rnb, electronic and dance. lots and lots, and we heard a lot of that at the gig too, which kept things really fresh and interesting. there were even a few covers tossed in for good measure. speaking honestly though and especially after seeing that show, the new stuff? it’s where it’s at. this is an artist who after a long time figuring things out, really has indeed figured things out.

Consider this a personal invitation to the Return on Influence Festival '26. A full day of influencer marketing, with the people running some of the best programs in the world.

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October 21, 2026, 10 am – 5 pm ET.

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