Osloob

Osloob is a music producer, poet, singer, rapper, hip hop artist, beatmaker, and beatboxer born as a Palestinian in Lebanon and currently based in France. He is the founder of the bands Katibeh 5, Al-Akhareen, and Wala Marra, and for over two decades, he has routinely collaborated with musicians, theatre artists, filmmakers, dancers, researchers, folk singers, and social activists. His multimedia engagements span diverse genres such as jazz, pop, spoken word, and contemporary rock, in addition to traditional forms such as sufi, tarab, and mawwal. His extensive knowledge of the craft, flair for creative conceptualisation, and rigorous insights have made him an indispensable part of several international projects and critically acclaimed initiatives across West Asia and Europe.

His bands and projects include Katibeh 5 (2003), Touffar (2009), Duo Abo Gabi and Osloob (2012), Al Akhareen (2016), Anne Paceo Rewind (2017), Trio Naïssam Jalal, Osloob, and Claude Tchamitchian (2018), Artefact (2018), Olivier Laisney 4t (2019), La foutue bande (2020), Duo Hareth Mhedi and Osloob (2022), and Wala Marra (2023).

Among his notable albums are Ahla Fik Bil Mokhayamat (Welcome to the Refugee Camps) 2006, Al-Tareeq Wahad Marsoum (The Road Ahead is One and Known) 2009, Suhab Al-Ard (The Owner of the Land) 2010, Al-Habo (The Flower Bud) 2017, Al-Akhareen (The Others) 2018, Dawayer (Circles) 2020, Ya Baladna (O Homeland) 2024, Spectrum of Rebellion 2026, and The Lost Parts 2026. His mixtapes include Osloob / Maqdessi 2010, Fasl (Chapter) 2012, Aal Hefe (On the Edge) 2014, Mashhad Hur (Free Scene) 2015, Fasal Aakhar (Another Chapter) 2016, Armada Bizarta (Team Bizerte) 2016, and Lovers’ Songs 2023.

He regularly conducts beatbox workshops at Le Conservatoire Jean Wiéner, Bobigny, Points Communs, Ivry-sur-Seine Pontoise, Banlieues Bleues festival, and several schools across the Îlede-France region for students and the disabled community. He has been the recipient of several grants and awards, including Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) Grant, 2014 and 2021, Qattan Foundation Grant, 2017, Prix des Musiques d'ICI, 2020, and Cultures of Resistance Creative Activism Award, 2021.