Marwan Pablo

Beginnings

Marwan Pablo began making music in 2015 and went by the stage name 'Dama.' In late 2017, he released a single, Al Gholaf X Ozoris, under the name of Marwan Pablo, in reference to Pablo Escobar and Pablo Picasso, as he mentions in his single, Ctrl. Pablo began his career writing lyrics then started producing tracks.^[7]

Pablo's first career-driven goal was to familiarize his hometown of Alexandria with trap music.^[8][9] In 2018, he created his first breakthrough song, 3ayz Fin, after it was remixed by the popular Mahraganat artist, Sadat. He also starred in the Rabka documentary and, in 2019, released Sindbad. The majority of Pablo tracks in 2019 were collaborations with the Egyptian producer Molotof; most of Pablo's fans believe this was his golden era, as he created musical projects in collaboration with Molotof such as El Gemeza and Free. All of these projects have made major impacts on the Rap scene in both Egypt and the entirety of the Middle East.

Hiatus

On February 14, 2020, Pablo announced that, for personal and religious reasons, he would no longer be making music.^[10][11] Shortly after, he blanked his YouTube channel and Instagram account,^[12] later stating that the main reason he retired was "the pressure that was forced on him, the different levels of expectations that people have cornered him within, and the constant labeling". He said that he needed a break to "recharge himself without being cornered".^[13] On March 9, 2020, Pablo went on Instagram in response to rumours of his illness or death, and was angry over the anecdotes and denied any relation between the retirement and his health or family members.^[14]

His track Denamet (with Molotof) was the runner-up in Egypt's top 5 list in July 2020.^[15]

Return

In January 2021, Pablo was speculated to return after his profile picture on Facebook was changed. He did not confirm his return.^[16][17][18]

On February 19, a leaked video on Twitter went viral after showcasing Pablo working on a new song and preparing for his return. His name topped the trending list on Twitter that day in Egypt.^[19][20]

On February 25, Pablo released a single, Ghaba (transl. Jungle), and reactivated his social media accounts. Pablo's comeback music video gained more than 4 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours and was on the platform's top 10 trending.^{[21][22][23][24]}

On March 29, he announced an EP named CTRL containing 5 singles: Ghaba, El Hob Fein, CTRL, DON, and ATARY; the latter being a previously released, unfinished track, before Pablo's retirement.

On October 1, 2021, Pablo held a concert in New Cairo, accompanied by Palestinian rap group BLTNM members Shabjdeed, Al Nather, and Shabmouri. The tickets sold out and the concert was attended by over twenty six thousand people. Shortly after the concert, the Egyptian Musicians' Syndicate banned Pablo from performing because of Shabjdeed's actions during the concert, which included changing the lyrics of a religious chant by Sayed Al-Naqshabandi to welcome Pablo on stage, as well as performing songs with obscene lyrics.^[25]

Main Studio Albums

EPs