Motherhood, music and defiance: How Moroccan superstar Manal is transforming personal struggle into powerful soundtracks

"Okay, we're starting very strong," Manal begins, smiling, when asked about CARTA ROUGE, the Moroccan musician's latest single. 

The track is not only her first solo release since Arabian Heartbreak in 2024 but also her first since becoming a mother. It marks a fairly defiant return for the artist, unapologetically going after those who have doubted her with a confident swagger.

"They love to see me hurt. They want me to go and hide. But me, I've got God on my side," Manal sings in Darija within the first minute of CARTA ROUGE. 

Listeners will notice, however, that Manal then seemingly starts taking shots at a specific person. "You're sick, girl! You want to be like me? Oh damn, we're worlds apart," she sings, almost taunting this mystery person.

Therein lies the first question of this interview: Who exactly was Manal talking about?

"I wrote a song about a specific person, I'm not going to lie. But unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to tell you who the person is," the 32-year-old artist admits, speaking from her home in Marrakesh. 

"But it's a tribute to all the people that don't deserve to be in our lives anymore, especially when you try to make the relationship work. You get a lot of red flags — you see them, you try to make sense of them, and you find reasons for people to stay in your life. But at some point, you can't do it anymore," she tells The New Arab. 

"Whenever I have something that's going on in my life, and I can't talk about it, I just try to write about it. For me, it's the only way that I can no longer hold grudges about any situation. My favourite way to heal is writing music. I think that the song is my way to heal from a certain situation."

Healing through music

Throughout her career, Manal has employed a direct approach to her music and lyricism. Her music covers a range of issues important to the fabric of Moroccan society and feminism, such as domestic violence against women in the country, voting in elections, and pushing back against gendered, outdated roles for women.

That approach has garnered acclaim both in Morocco and more broadly across North Africa and Europe. 

After collaborating with Moroccan juggernauts Shayfeen, ElGrandeToto, and Tagne in such a short amount of time early in her career, Manal became the first artist from the Middle East and North Africa to perform at COLORS Studios in 2022 and collaborated later that year with Arab pop stars Rahma Riad and Balqees on Light Up The Sky, one of the official FIFA Qatar World Cup songs.

In just seven years since the release of her first studio single, Manal has cemented herself as one of the leading artists across the Middle East and North Africa.

And yet, as shown in CARTA ROUGE, Manal is still eager to prove she can push her creative limits and set a high standard for her peers, especially now that she has a renewed purpose that seems to have unlocked a new dimension to her artistry.

"Before [my daughter was born], music was my only priority, and I could stay hours and hours and days and weeks in the studio," the artist reflects. 

"But now I have this new person in my life who needs all my attention, affection and time. I'm really trying to find a balance between being a good mother and a present artist. I've learned that I have more patience than I knew."

Next generation rising

As Manal embraced the first 10 months of motherhood, her home country also faced a wave of change, with Gen Z protesters filling the streets to demand stronger public education, improved healthcare, and broader reforms. Prominent Moroccan artists, like rapper Raid, were even arrested.

Manal, who has not shied away from speaking about political topics in her country, says she felt "proud" to see the younger generation take a stand.

"I was super proud and happy because I know these next generations are going to take Morocco to the next level," Manal explains. 

"As a Moroccan citizen, that's everything I would wish for my country. As an artist, of course, I stood by them, and I shared everything because they were asking for the most legit things like education and health. I stood by them, and I would, again, stand with them for anything that I find logical."

Many artists in the Middle East and North Africa who use their platforms in this thoughtful manner rarely experience the mainstream success that Manal has. In fact, many artists may even have their careers completely cut short by outside forces for even daring to mention specific topics publicly.

Speaking up about these issues feels effortless, Manal elaborates. Where many artists may feel a sense of duty or even a burden to speak up constantly — or even shy away from any public acknowledgement of these issues — Manal chooses to lean in, saying that it's "very natural" to express these thoughts in her music.

"I really try to speak about subjects that are a bit, I'm not going to say taboo, but sometimes they're either controversial or a subject that people don't want to hear," the artist shares. 

"I think that music is my way of spreading awareness and of expressing myself. It's like an alter ego. I think as an artist, my mission is to speak about things. Music is entertainment, and people just love hearing music, but for me, we also need to have messages behind the entertainment."

Balancing motherhood and art

In the first year of motherhood, Manal struggled to find that motivation to continue making music, as she dealt with postpartum depression and initially struggled to adjust to this new life. 

She vulnerably shares that she had "no time, no energy, and no intention" regarding her artistic career.

But that day finally came, when Manal felt that need for a creative outlet again.

The artist says matter-of-factly, "I just felt good, and I started missing music. I started listening to what was going on and to the new releases by new artists and what they were doing. I just missed it. It just hit me, and I just missed making music."

She came back this year first as a featured artist, collaborating with Moroccan up-and-comer Najm on the viral RIRI&ROCKY and rapper Shaw on the song NGHAMER (Manal insists that she isn't taking any sides in the Shaw and Small X beef).

Despite the widespread success of her album Arabian Heartbreak, Manal felt no pressure to return to the studio for her own original music. 

Time, she says, allowed her to be patient with herself and with her art over the last year, giving her the space to create music on her own terms.

"I really started to make peace with the idea that now if I make music, I really want to make it in my own way," Manal shares candidly. 

"I don't want to be pressured. I want to make music in peace. I want to do it with ease and with love. I don't want to do it with expectations: to expect some numbers, to expect to be on top of playlists, or to be the first to trend, because that's the mindset I had before. Whenever you don't get what you expect, you're disappointed. And disappointment is very hard on an artist. Disappointment can kill me."

With that mindset and understanding intact, CARTA ROUGE feels less like a diss track aimed at a specific person and more like a new path forward for Manal, shedding her former self and ready to create music in a way she had always intended, without feeling the need to conform to arbitrary goals.

And she's doing all of this in a way that honours Morocco and her people.

"I try to keep it real because these last few years, I really wanted to show the world how beautiful our culture is — wearing Moroccan outfits, showcasing Moroccan beauty, showcasing Moroccan richness, the food, the colours, the fabrics, the places, the architecture, and just trying to be an ambassador for Morocco. I really did it out of love and not out of marketing."

But do not call her a rapper. Despite being constantly dubbed "the queen of Moroccan hip-hop", Manal rejects that title.

"I don't know how people even called me a rapper because I did just two rap songs in my career. I still don't get it. I'm not going to lie."

As the conversation winds down, Manal reflects on the journey that has shaped her both as an artist and a mother. 

Balancing the demands of parenthood with the creative freedom she fought so hard to reclaim, she remains unapologetically herself — bold, defiant, and deeply connected to her culture.

Danny Hajjar is a music journalist and was previously the founding editor of Rolling Stone MENA, launching the publication in the region with exclusive interviews, coverage, and high-profile covers. He has interviewed artists across the Middle East, North Africa, and its global diaspora communities and has written trend analysis and critiques on the emerging wave of Arabic music. Hajjar has written for The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone US, GQ Middle East, NPR, and Spin Magazine

Follow him on Instagram: @dannyghajjar