Marwan Abdelhamid (; born October 6, 2000), known professionally as Saint Levant (; ), is a Palestinian singer-songwriter and rapper. A multilingual artist, he is best known for his song "Very Few Friends".

Early life and education

Abdelhamid was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

to a half-Algerian, half-French mother, Maria Mohammedi, and a half-Palestinian, half-Serbian father, Rashid Abdelhamid, who were both raised in Algeria. His father, the son of a Serbian medical doctor and a Palestinian from

Safad Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortified town in the Upper Gal ...

who studied engineering in Yugoslavia following his expulsion as a child in 1948, has worked as an architect, hotel entrepreneur, DJ and film producer; his mother, the daughter of a French female pianist and former music teacher at the French ''lycée'' in Algiers, has worked for

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

. He has a younger brother, named Khaled. Shortly after Abdelhamid's birth, the family joined his paternal grandparents in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, where his parents built a 22-room beachfront hotel in

Rimal Rimal or Remal () is a neighborhood in Gaza City located from the city center. Situated along the coastline, it was considered the most prosperous neighborhood of Gaza.Jacobs, 1998, p.455. The main street that runs through Gaza, Omar Mukhtar ...

based on an architectural project by his father, named " Al Deira". He spent his childhood primarily there, attending the American International School, until the 2007 Battle of Gaza, after which he and his family relocated to

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan. He has described the time spent in Gaza as "the best years of life". Abdelhamid took up the passion for music from his father and his maternal grandmother, studying piano and saxophone. Growing up, he communicated in French at home, English at school, and Arabic at the

Palestinian refugee camp Palestinian refugee camps were first established to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight during the 1948 Palestine war. Camps were established by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UN ...

of Al-Wehdat, where he played football with the local team after school. In 2018, aged 17, Abdelhamid moved to the United States to pursue a bachelor's degree in International Relations at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, from which he graduated in 2022.

Career

Before taking on the name Saint Levant (a pun on " Yves Saint Laurent" and "

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

"), Abdelhamid wrote "Jerusalem Freestyle" and "Nirvana in Gaza", both of which discussed political issues. Around the same time, Abdelhamid began posting videos on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

in which he discussed Palestinian history, as well as commentary on

toxic masculinity The concept of toxic masculinity is used in academic and media discussions to refer to those aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are socially destructive, such as misogyny, homophobia, and violent domination. These traits are considered "toxi ...

Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, in a region of the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab world. The various religions the Arabs have adopted throughout Histor ...

. In November 2022, Saint Levant released his trilingual rap track "Very Few Friends", which was streamed approximately 2 million

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

views in one month. The song soon became popular on TikTok and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, as well as on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, where it peaked at number 1 in nineteen countries and number 2 in the United States, and reached number 2 on the Global Viral 50 chart. In May 2023, Saint Levant was chosen as

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

's first fragrance ambassador in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The same year, he released the EP ''From Gaza, with Love''. He was named among the 2023 "Men of the Year" by ''

GQ Middle East ''GQ'' (short for ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and previously known as ''Apparel Arts'') is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though ...

''. In 2024, he signed with Universal Arabic Music (UAM) and released, together with MC Abdul, "Deira", a song in the chaabi musical style of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

dedicated to his father's hotel in Gaza, which went destroyed in an Israeli bombing in January 2024 during

Israel's war on Gaza The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts dating back to the 20th century, it follows the wars of 200 ...

; the song featured as the title track on his debut album ''

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

'', containing duets with other artists like

Cheb Bilal Bilal Mouffok (; born 23 July 1966), known professionally as Cheb Bilal (), is an Algerian raï singer, He produces traditional music that includes instruments like congas and violins. Career Bilal spent much of his youth in Oran, where he stu ...

and

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...

. Saint Levant performed at

Coachella 2024 Coachella 2024 was a music festival that took place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on 12–14 and 19–21 April 2024. The headliners for the festival were Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, and Doja Cat. Background The Coachella ...

, using his performance to bring awareness to the ongoing war taking place in Gaza. The following 22 May, he was part of the lineup of a Palestine charity concert at

Zénith Paris Zénith Paris (originally known as Zénith de Paris, ; and commonly referred to as Le Zénith, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paris, France. It is located in the Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement on the edge of the Canal d ...

, whose revenue was destined to

Medical Aid for Palestinians Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charitable organization, charity that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. It is in List of organiza ...

. On February 14, 2025, on the occasion of

Saint Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it ha ...

, Saint Levant released the EP ''Love Letters /'' , divided between a "side A" (''Love Letters from Saint Levant'') and a "side B" (), and featuring three unreleased tracks out of six. Three days later, he featured alongside

Lourdes Leon Lourdes Maria "Lola" Ciccone Leon (born October 14, 1996) is an American singer, dancer and fashion model. Her parents are Madonna and Carlos Leon. In September 2021, she appeared on an ensemble cast cover of ''Vogue''. As of August 2022, Leon ...

in a promotional video for Yves Saint Laurent and Peter Park's new

omakase is a Japanese language, Japanese phrase, used when ordering food in restaurants, that means 'I'll leave it up to you' (from Japanese ). Usage The phrase ''omakase'', literally 'I leave it up to you', is most commonly used when dining at Japa ...

restaurant Sushi Park Paris.

Artistry and activism

Early in his career, Abdelhamid co-founded GrowHome, which connects Palestinian entrepreneurs with individuals who can help fund their projects. In early 2022, alongside Stephanie Moukhaiber, he started the 2048 Fellowshipa project providing financial support and mentorship for Palestinian creatives; its name, which was changed to "2048 Foundation" in 2024, references the 100th anniversary of the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

. Saint Levant is outspoken on the struggle in Palestine, telling ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'':

"Everything that I do is Israeli-focused and based on the
Palestinian cause Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 19 ...
and struggle, doing a lot of contextualizing because I came to America, man, and I realized that a lot of people thought that it's a conflict between these two equal just hate each other for some reason,
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
Palestinians just hate Israelis. And what people don't understand is that it's 80 years of occupation and
oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...
and
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
and
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
so I think it's very important to just push that forward always and I try to do it through the music; I try to do it through my actions, and everything that I do."

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, Saint Levant has stated that a sense of "

survivor's guilt Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) happens when individuals feel guilty after they survive a tragic, near death, or traumatic event when others perished. It ...

" has contributed to shaping his artistic production. He identifies as a feminist. In February 2025, pro-Israel groups and media criticized Yves Saint Laurent's collaboration with Abdelhamid as a partnership with an "

antisemite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

" (reportedly for "anti-Jewish statements" which included support for the attacks against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in November 2024), and called for boycotting the brand. Saint Levant claims inspiration from artists like

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

Cheb Khaled Khaled Hadj Ibrahim (, ; born 29 February 1960), better known by his mononym Khaled (), is an Algerian raï singer, musician and songwriter. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled (, Arabic for "Young" Khaled, with " ...

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie Haddad (, ; born November 20, 1934 or November 21, 1935), known as Fairuz (, ), is a Lebanese singer. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is pop ...

, Marwan Moussa,

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Stromae Paul Van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his music, which is a blend of hip-hop and electronic music styles. Stromae came ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

and

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname, and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

Personal life

Abdelhamid is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. He lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, though he regularly returns to Amman. Since 2023, he has been in a relationship with French-Haitian singer Naïka.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Other charted songs

As a featured artist

* "Balak" ( Zeyne feat. Saint Levant; 2022) * "Nasty" (Zeina feat. Saint Levant; 2023) * "Sak Pase" ( Michaël Brun feat. Saint Levant and Lolo Zouaï; 2023)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levant, Saint 2000 births 21st-century rappers Living people Musicians from Jerusalem Palestinian emigrants to Jordan Palestinian expatriates in the United States Palestinian rappers Palestinian male singers Palestinian pop singers Palestinian songwriters Hip-hop singers Contemporary R&B singers Alternative R&B musicians World music singers Rhythm and blues saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists Palestinian people of Algerian descent Palestinian people of French descent Palestinian people of Serbian descent People from Gaza City Entertainers from Amman University of California, Santa Barbara alumni English-language singers from Palestine Arabic-language singers of Palestine French-language singers Universal Music Group artists Palestinian anti-Zionists Palestinian activists Palestinian feminists Palestinian Muslims