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Is Saint Levant selling Palestine? The rap feud everyone is talking about
Shabjdeed's new diss track targeting Saint Levant has sparked a wider debate over Palestinian identity, fame and commercialisation.
Saint Levant is at the centre of a growing debate after Shabjdeed's diss track questioned his role as a global voice for Palestine. [Getty]
When Palestinian rapper Shabjdeed dropped SLV, fans expected another diss track. Instead, it has ignited one of the biggest debates in Arab music this year, with fans arguing over whether Saint Levant has become the global face of Palestine, or whether he's turning Palestinian identity into a brand. So what's actually going on?
What is Shabjdeed actually accusing Saint Levant of?
In his diss rap SLV, Shabjdeed questions why one of the world's biggest Palestinian artists has built much of his career around love songs and romance while also becoming one of the most recognisable cultural ambassadors for Palestine.
The criticism is directed less at Saint Levant's identity than at a contradiction between his political image and his commercial success.
Why now?
Saint Levant has never been bigger. The multilingual singer has gone from an underground favourite to a global star, collaborating with Lebanese pop icon Haifa Wehbe on two singles, while continuing to expand his international profile through fashion campaigns and festival appearances.
The immediate tension may also have been heightened after both artists were booked to perform in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on the same night later this month. But there is no public evidence that Saint Levant personally chose the date or intended to compete with Shabjdeed.
The diss track also follows months of debate surrounding Saint Levant's growing commercial profile. In July, Prada unveiled the singer as one of its new global ambassadors during Milan Fashion Week. The campaign featured him wearing a necklace shaped like historic Palestine, which brought the Palestinian identity into one of fashion's biggest global brands.
The campaign became one of several moments that highlighted the unusual position Saint Levant occupies, balancing commercial partnerships with increasingly visible expressions of Palestinian identity.
Earlier this year, videos also circulated showing him pausing a concert after a Palestinian flag was removed from the audience, refusing to continue until it was returned.
Is Shabjdeed questioning Saint Levant's Palestinian identity?
Not exactly. Saint Levant, whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid, was born in Jerusalem, spent part of his childhood in Gaza before moving to Jordan and later the United States.
Long before Israel's current genocidal war, he spoke publicly about his childhood in Gaza and released From Gaza, With Love in 2023.
Shabjdeed's criticism is instead aimed at whether Palestine itself has become part of a marketable global brand built around fashion, romance and celebrity.
Why do the two artists represent different Palestinian experiences?
Part of the debate stems from their very different backgrounds. Shabjdeed, whose real name is Odai Abbas, grew up in Kafr Aqab and built his career through Palestine's underground rap scene. His music draws heavily on checkpoints, occupation, restricted movement and everyday life in the occupied West Bank.
Saint Levant's music, by contrast, reflects a diaspora experience shaped by childhood memories of Gaza, displacement, multilingualism and life between the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
Those differences have prompted wider questions over whether artists living under occupation inevitably carry greater authority when speaking about Palestine, or whether that creates an impossible hierarchy of Palestinian identity.
Why has this become bigger than a rap feud?
It has become a broader conversation about which Palestinian voices are amplified by the global entertainment industry, why some stories are easier to market than others, and whether international success inevitably reshapes political identity.
The debate has turned into who gets to define Palestinian identity in the global imagination, and whether the industry's preference for internationally accessible figures leaves less room for artists whose work is rooted in the daily realities of Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people.
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