Felukah

From Cairo to New York and on to stages around the world: On October 15, Felukah will bring her unique blend of hip-hop, neo-soul, and spoken word to the Gannet.

Born in Cairo in 1998, Sara Elmessiry—better known as Felukah—takes her name from the traditional Nile sailboats, symbolizing her music: flowing seamlessly between cultures, languages, and genres. Since moving to New York City in 2017, she has woven English and Arabic into a sound described as “Arabfuturist,” making her one of the most influential voices of a new generation of Arab female artists.

With albums like "Acid Battery" (2018), "Citadel" (2019), and "Dream 23" (2021), Felukah has established herself as a force of her own in contemporary hip-hop—her boom-bap-influenced neo-soul is reminiscent of early Lauryn Hill or Erykah Badu, while her lyrics oscillate between Cairo and New York, between poetry and radical joy.

With her "Qabl El Shams" world tour, Felukah has taken stages across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East by storm in recent years. Now she’s stopping in Basel—a rare performance by the only woman on Spotify’s "Rap Egypt" playlist.

An evening between the banks of the Nile and New York beats—don't miss it.