Page 14 - Issue 41

ELITE Vol.1, Issue 41, March 2022

As, while Pablo paid great attention to the quality of
the lyrics in his tracks, he also collaborated with great
music producers like Molotof - who was his partner
in success and a direct reason for making rap music
mainstream due to his two most famous
collaborations “El Gemeza” with Pablo and “Dorak
Gai” with Wegz - who managed to create a new
mixture between trap music and mahragant and called
it the “Molowave”.
He was also careful to collaborate with extremely
creative directors who managed to show the different Any follower of the Egyptian rap scene at that time
sides of his personality in a multitude of ways like could clearly understand what Pablo was
Mohsen Sherif, the director of “Free” which some experiencing and feeling. For after the release of “El
fans regard to be one of the best, if not THE best Gemeza”, Pablo managed to garner a huge following
music video ever made in the rap scene. from outside the rap scene, which earned him the
However, smart collaborations weren’t what made criticism of the “die-hard hip-hop heads” who saw
Pablo different. Pablo’s uniqueness stems both from that their underground art is slowly being stolen and
the quality that he delivers as well as from Pablo diluted to fit the standards of becoming mainstream.
himself. His charismatic presence in front of the On the other hand, many people began to think that
camera, his unrivaled smile and his down to earth “El Gemeza” is a representation of what the rap
personality were what differentiated him from all of scene offers and began to attack the scene as the
his rivals in the scene. track was very simplistic in its lyrics. However, this
Marwan Pablo: Endgame? is a very shallow way to view a full genre, while also
On February 14 of 2020, Pablo announced that, for bearing in mind that the track was more of a
personal and religious reasons, he will no longer be mahragan sung by a rapper than a pure rap track.
making music. Shortly after, he removed all pictures However, after his retirement, the rap scene began to
and videos from both his YouTube channel and feel like it has lost a part of its soul. Which goes to
Instagram account. He later explained that the main show that Pablo’s presence was a corner stone in the
reason he retired is "the pressure that was forced on scene and with his absence, the rap scene began to
him, the different levels of expectations that people lose the sense of competition that was ongoing then
have cornered him within, and the constant labeling". between him and Wegz.
He said that he needed a break to "recharge himself People began to wonder. Is this really the “endgame”
without being cornered". for Marwan Pablo?
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