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For anyone who’s kept their ears close to the pulse of Arab rap, Marwan Moussa needs no introduction. For everyone else, you know him as the World Champion (Batal 3alam) he is.
Now, the Egyptian rapper is stepping into emotional territory with The Man Who Lost His Heart, his third studio album, and his most intimate to date, dropping May 5. Structured around the five stages of grief, the project traces a deeply personal journey of mourning, reflection, and resilience.
“This album wasn’t built overnight. It was carved out of time, grief, and intention. I couldn’t rush it, because every word and every sound had to carry the weight of something real. The project is split across five discs, each one tracing the stages of grief, a map of the emotions I had to confront after losing my mother. This isn’t just about loss, though; it’s about finding the strength to stand back up, and offering a hand to anyone who might need it.”
Written and recorded between Egypt, the Netherlands, Germany, Thailand, England, and Los Angeles, each track carries the imprint of place, and the imprint of people. Marwan was deliberate in choosing collaborators who could bring the unspoken to life, who could fill in the emotional blanks. The result is a body of work that echoes grief and attempts to transform it.
Leading the charge is “BOSAKBER,” a first single that hits like a floodgate swinging open. The song unravels in a whirlwind of free-associative verses, looping through heartbreak, confusion, detachment, and the psychological fallout of emotional loss. One can almost hear the pain in Marwan’s raspy voice. The beat, a twisted, looping sample, pulls listeners into the eye of the storm.
Visually, the accompanying video dives even deeper. A film student and cinema lover, Marwan leans on the power of image to tell what words can’t. Whether he’s battling his reflection or standing motionless beneath a boundless sky, the frames reflect the internal disarray that shaped the track. It’s a filmic diary of spiraling thoughts and a soul in freefall.
In anticipation of the album, Marwan wiped his Instagram clean, a digital reset mirroring the emotional one that birthed this new era.
