DYSTINCT is worldwide in more ways than one. His music ventures across the globe, a voyage that pulls sounds and genres from different corners of the world: from Europe to Africa, Latin America to the Middle East, from the US to the UK to his beloved hometown in Morocco. Flanked by a close-knit team that he calls family, this Belgian-born Moroccan star has curated a cosmic discography: a multilingual soundscape with an Arabic essence at its core. And now with sold-out tours, major collaborations and over one billion streams under his belt, DYSTINCT is an award-winning trailblazer, sharing his culture with the world and bringing Arabic fusion to a global stage in all of its shining glory.
During his trip to London in advance of his world tour – and prior to joining DJ AG at King’s Cross to perform later that evening – DYSTINCT sat down with GRM to talk music, heritage and his groundbreaking new album, BABABA WORLD.
Your new album, BABABA WORLD is making waves. If you had to describe this album to someone who hasn’t heard it before, what would you say?
“I can’t describe the album without describing the bigger plan: I just want the world to sing Darija – that’s the Arabic dialect of Morocco. I used to listen to a lot of Spanish music and I saw people singing in Spanish when they didn’t even speak the language. So then I was like, ‘Ok, I can do this too but with Arabic.’ When I released [my song], ‘Tek Tek’ a couple of years ago, I saw people singing the Arabic and I realised that it can work. So if you listen to this new album, there are 19 songs but they are all so different. You’re gonna hear Latin vibes, UK vibes, French vibes, but we always keep the Arabic in it – that’s the ‘DYSTINCT’ sound, we call it the ‘Bababa World’. But it goes further than the music, it’s about the whole culture that comes with it. And it’s not a marketing stunt or anything, it’s just us. Now we can travel the world and show people our beautiful culture. For me, that’s better than the streams – if we can do this for 20 years and keep performing and travelling and making people happy, then I don’t need money, I don’t need anything else. Just a place to sleep!”
When speaking about your art, you’re never just talking about yourself alone. I know you’re very close to your main producers, YAM and Unleaded. Who else is important to you in your creative journey?
“The whole team! We’re like one big family. We travel [a lot], every two days we’re in a different country and we’re always together. We’re with each other every day. At every concert and on every flyer you see ‘DYSTINCT’ but I don’t do this alone – I do this with them. This was all a dream for us but now we have other dreams, so we keep dreaming, and I’m blessed that I can do it with them. With money and all these things, of course your life changes a little bit, but we’re still the same, man.”
You started making music when you were a teenager and you’ve kept the same people around you? You’ve really grown together.
“Yeah. At the beginning, we used to make music in Dutch… but eventually, we wanted to take the next step. I already used to mix [the music] with Arabic but I always said that one day, I wanted to do an Arabic song and I wanted to do it well. I released one song called ‘Ya La Laa’ and the song was really big but nobody knew who DYSTINCT was because I used to be a really shy guy. So then I started working on myself as an artist, showing my face, talking more, that was a big move for me. This interview? If you asked me to do this three years ago, I would never come! Because if you see my other guys, we just love to make music, not the whole [fame] around it.”
You’ve said that you want your new album to be like a bridge between Morocco and the rest of the world. Tell us more about this intention.
“It’s not even an intention – it’s just who I am, it’s just us. I was born in Belgium but the funny thing is, I didn’t miss Morocco because at home we only spoke Arabic, the TV only played Moroccan shows, the food at home was only Moroccan. When I was young, we’d go back to Morocco a lot. My parents never let me miss Morocco and I’m happy that they did that.”
What do you love the most about Morocco?
“I don’t know how to explain it but when I get off the plane, it really feels like home. The love there is different, you know? And that’s a beautiful thing. I always say that I can only do this because of Morocco, because everything started there.”
South African and West African music have skyrocketed globally in recent years. Do you think now is the time for North African music to shine?
“I don’t decide – it’s the people. But it seems to be really growing. With the Afrobeats music, at the beginning, it was [gradual] but now the whole world is making Afro music. I think now it’s also the time for Moroccan and Arabic music. I think now people are starting to understand the culture.”
You blend different genres and languages in your songs. How did you learn to combine these sounds and languages so smoothly?
“I listen to a lot of different music and music has no language. There are no rules in music. For us, the basis is always Arabic and sometimes I mix it with a little English or French or whichever language I choose. There’s not really any kind of specific way that I do it, it just kind of comes naturally. I speak five languages – French, English, Dutch, Arabic and the dialect of Arabic.”
This album also has some huge international features including French Montana and J Balvin, but we’re most excited about the D-Block Europe collab. How did this come about?
“We [Young Adz and I] used to talk and then we met at Fashion Week in Paris. I had the song already and we went to the studio that night. Very easy – we made the song, we made another one. And yeah, the rest is history. And then LB sent his verse [later] because he wasn’t in Paris. It came together very quickly. They’re really good guys.”
And are there any other UK artists that you’d want to collaborate with in the future?
“Definitely. Central Cee is also a really hard artist and I met him in Brussels. There are a lot more but I don’t want to spoil it! But right now, I think Central Cee.”
How do you feel about the UK and your UK fanbase?
“I love it. The crazy thing is that London was the first concert that sold out from the whole [upcoming] tour. That’s crazy! We’re looking out for a second date or a bigger venue.”
Wow. Now you have fans all over the world but did you ever struggle with the idea of not being able to reach different audiences?
“The struggle was not with the audiences – in the beginning, the struggle was with the industry! About two years ago, when I wanted to do my first world tour, none of the industry people wanted to work with me ’cause they told me that Arabic music doesn’t sell tickets, that it’s only for shisha bars and weddings. That’s exactly what they told me – we were really disappointed when we heard that. So then we said, ‘Ok, no problem.’ We did the tour by ourselves and it was difficult but we sold out all of America, all of Europe. And guess what? The same people [that didn’t believe in us] now wanted to work with us! [Laughs]. I don’t blame them. I could be mad, but it was new for them, and some people don’t want to take the risk. So I’m not mad but I’m never gonna forget it. But it motivated us, we showed them.”
What advice would you give to rising artists who are doubting their dreams?
“It is very cliché, but just keep going. That’s the only thing I can say. You can have talent, but with hard work, you get further. A lot of people have talent, there are people who have more talent than me! But the hard work, I think that’s the most important thing. And the belief.”
And finally, if you could share one message with everybody who is reading these words, what would you say?
“The world already has a lot of negativity so just be good to each other. Check on your people more. We need to be one family – whether you’re Moroccan or from wherever, we’re just one family. If I could share a message with the world, that would be it.”
DYSTINCT’s new album, BABABA WORLD is available on all streaming platforms – soak it in here on GRM Daily, via the link below.