Saint Levant

Blending elements drawn from his own varied heritage, the multilingual and multicultural singer-rapper Saint Levant crafts an unhurried, laid-back sound that echoes 2000s rap and R&B while remaining firmly rooted in the era of social media. Early releases quickly gained traction through an eager online audience, and the trilingual romance rap “Very Few Friends,” issued in 2022, paved the way for his debut EP, From Gaza, With Love, which arrived the following year.

Born Marwan Abdelhamid in Jerusalem, he spent his formative years between the Gaza Strip and Jordan before moving to California for university studies. His initial singles, “Jerusalem Freestyle” and “Nirvana in Gaza,” surfaced in 2020 and attracted widespread notice across social platforms. Additional tracks appeared in the ensuing period, among them the collaborative EP Here and There, recorded with Egyptian R&B vocalist Bayou. Yet it was “Very Few Friends” that brought broader recognition; its relaxed 2000s-style production and romantic verses, delivered in English, French, and Arabic, propelled the track to viral status with tens of millions of streams in short order. Subsequent releases “I Guess” and “FaceTime” preceded the March 2023 arrival of From Gaza, With Love, a project that gathered earlier material alongside fresh songs.