Mohammed El-Susi

Mohammed El-Susi, known by his stage name El-Susi, is a hip-hop artist, music and video producer, and graphic designer from Gaza, Palestine.

El-Susi’s music focuses on a variety of issues including corruption, nepotism, poverty, unemployment, and protesting Israeli occupation and Hamas’s governance of Gaza. Through his music and in media appearances, El-Susi has also advocated for artistic freedom in Gaza, criticising the authoritarian and political constraints which have prevented artists from producing and publishing their work. El-Susi’s music and messages have also attracted significant media attention from international outlets such as the BBC, Der Spiegel, Al Jazeera, and Dagbladet.

El-Susi started his artistic career in 2009 when he and his brother founded the band ‘Revolution Makers’, which enjoyed widespread popularity among Gazans until the Hamas authorities prohibited them from performing in 2017.

As a result of the popularity of his music, El-Susi was threatened, arrested, interrogated, and put under surveillance on multiple occasions. Unable to produce and perform in Gaza, he fled to Turkey in 2019. In Istanbul, El-Susi continued his work under difficult financial and living conditions, releasing several songs, and producing music for other artists. Unable to establish a stable life in Turkey due to the treatment of refugees in the country, El-Susi eventually returned to Gaza.

In October 2023, following the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, El-Susi and his family’s property was destroyed, and they were displaced multiple times within occupied Gaza. After six months, they were eventually able to evacuate to Egypt. In May 2024, he arrived in Norway and took up an ICORN residency in Stavanger City of Refuge.

In Norway, El-Susi continues to work on his music, using it as a platform to shed light on humanitarian issues in the Middle East and beyond. He plans on collaborating with local and international artists and advocate for positive change in the face of adversity.

More about Mohammed El-Susi’s work on YouTube, Behance, and Vimeo. You can also follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Portfolio:

‘Bengoul Amen/We Say Amen’ (Music production, performance, and video by El-Susi)

A song about a young man’s life in exile, overcoming all the challenges which being away from one’s homeland brings, instead focusing on his successes and the important people in his life.

‘Bentouh/We Get Lost’ (Music production, performance, and video by El-Susi)

A song about El-Susi’s own musical journey and the challenges of creative expression and musical success after immigrating from Gaza to Turkey. The music combines rap, electronic music,dance, trap, and the sounds of the Arabic oud.

‘El-Dope’ (Music production by El-Susi; performed by El-Susi and Abu Salah)

A song dedicated to the young Palestinian people, urging them to do as much as they can given the complicated situation under Israeli occupation.

‘Ala Khair/Everything Will Be Alright’ (Music production and video by El-Susi; performance by El-Susi and Mohammed Khira)

Through reggae and electronic music,this song is aimed at spreading joy and solidarity with the Palestinian cause in the face of war, occupation, and division.

‘An Nafese/If Up To Me’ (Music production, video, and performance by El-Susi and Mohammed Khira)

A song about El-Susi’s personal life, his experiences of growing up in a single-parent household after his father left, and the difficulties and lessons learned through these experiences.