I am a Sudanese artist living in Brooklyn. One who weaves between hip-hop and neo-soul, between a New York state-of-mind and a heart yearning for a home. So, when Cosmopolitan Middle East approached me to curate a playlist of ten tracks “for the yearners” in the context of IDENTITY, the theme for this month’s issue; it was no difficult task. 

As artists and women of the diaspora, we are no strangers to the concept of longing. We long for romances forbidden which, once found, are often tainted with the tragic remnants of toxicity passed down from generations above. We long for safety, comfort, home, and a sense of acceptance. We long for our dreams to come to us as easily as breathing, a luxury rarely afforded to deeply rooted women of culture (a nod to Sundus Abdul Hadi, author of Take Care of Your Self, for coining the term “deeply rooted”). Perhaps most of all, we long to be seen, truly seen, not for our identity, our bodies, our faces — but for the complexity of our souls, woven in this way by our ancestors and the many lives we have chosen to live and not live. The ten artists in this playlist are people I deeply respect and admire because I see myself in them. I see them in me. Their music makes me feel less alone, less invisible. 

Music has called to me since young, and though I answered that call much later than I wish I had, the journey I now embark on as an independent artist, soon to release her first album, has been a journey of unraveling my identity to its core. It has been a journey of yearning to learn, to grow, to understand, to deepen. This playlist is a tribute to that journey — may we all embark upon it and come out alive. Ameen. 

Next up is Noor Elkhaldi’s Ramadan Diary!