Biography
Beyond crafting compelling indie pop, the Canadian vocalist Nemahsis harnesses her reach to illuminate issues confronting her and many others as a Muslim woman of Palestinian heritage. She arrived in 2021 via the single “what if i took it off for you?” and shaped a resonant artistic statement through the EP eleven achers the following year. By 2024 she had pivoted to fully independent status with the releases “Stick of Gum” and “You Wore It Better.”
Nemah Hasan grew up in the largely white Ontario suburb of Milton, where singing initially formed only one strand of her expanding creative work; her main focus lay in fashion and makeup videos that foregrounded her life as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, punctuated by the occasional cover song posted for amusement. Everything shifted with the striking 2021 track “what if i took it off for you?” While the song itself drew listeners, wider notice followed Hasan’s disclosure that a beauty company had proposed an unpaid influencer collaboration, claiming exposure for “her community” would be adequate reward.
The release spurred her to produce additional identity-driven material, resulting in the 2022 EP eleven achers and the singles “criminal” and “i want to be your right hand.” Attention intensified when she disclosed that her label had severed ties because of her pro-Palestine stance amid the 2023 flare-up in the Gaza strip. Proceeding without support, she issued the self-released “Stick of Gum,” one of her most infectious tracks, complete with a video filmed in Palestine. Its successor, “You Wore It Better,” was promoted through a wry clip showing her back at a former high-school car-wash job, where she used her newly limited budget to perform the song for customers.
Nemah Hasan grew up in the largely white Ontario suburb of Milton, where singing initially formed only one strand of her expanding creative work; her main focus lay in fashion and makeup videos that foregrounded her life as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, punctuated by the occasional cover song posted for amusement. Everything shifted with the striking 2021 track “what if i took it off for you?” While the song itself drew listeners, wider notice followed Hasan’s disclosure that a beauty company had proposed an unpaid influencer collaboration, claiming exposure for “her community” would be adequate reward.
The release spurred her to produce additional identity-driven material, resulting in the 2022 EP eleven achers and the singles “criminal” and “i want to be your right hand.” Attention intensified when she disclosed that her label had severed ties because of her pro-Palestine stance amid the 2023 flare-up in the Gaza strip. Proceeding without support, she issued the self-released “Stick of Gum,” one of her most infectious tracks, complete with a video filmed in Palestine. Its successor, “You Wore It Better,” was promoted through a wry clip showing her back at a former high-school car-wash job, where she used her newly limited budget to perform the song for customers.
Singles
