Moroccan singer-songwriter (born 1993)
Manal
????
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Manal in 2018
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Birth name
| Manal Benchlikha
???? ???????
|
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Also known as
| Manal BK
|
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Born
| (
1993-09-18
)
18 September 1993
(age 30)
Marrakesh
,
Morocco
|
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Genres
| |
---|
Occupation(s)
| Singer, songwriter
|
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Instrument(s)
| |
---|
Years active
| 2015?present
|
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Labels
| Bench & Guess Entertainment ?
RCA Records
/
Sony Music
|
---|
Musical artist
Manal Benchlikha
(
Arabic
:
???? ???????
; born 18 September 1993), better known by her first name
Manal
, is a Moroccan pop singer-songwriter.
[1]
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Manal grew up in
Marrakesh
where she studied business and finance. Having always wanted to be a musical artist, she posted covers on
YouTube
and was discovered by Hamza Ait Khali, the partner of Moroccan producer DJ Van.
After a short stint with DJ Van's label Magic Castle Entertainment and the release of her debut single
Denia,
which earned her the 'Best Female Artist in Northern Africa' award at the
Africa Music Awards
in 2015, she switched management to
Tarik Azzougarh
, better known as
Cilvaringz
, producer and conceptualizer of the world's most expensive musical work ever sold,
Wu-Tang Clan
's
Once Upon A Time in Shaolin
.
Manal followed up her debut single with her song
Koulchi Ban
, the last song she would do with DJ Van. The release of
Koulchi Ban
received critical acclaim from fans and sparked the interest of
Sony Music Middle East
. In October 2017, Manal became one of the first Moroccan artists to sign to a major label in the Arab world.
In February 2018, Manal released her third single
Taj (Crown)
. Due to its music video and a significant departure from Manal's signature sound,
Taj
started a buzz and garnered millions of views quickly. It is one of the most viewed Arabic rap songs performed by a female artist. After
Taj
, Manal released the song
Nah
featuring Moroccan rap duo Shayfeen and then had one of her biggest singles to date,
Slay
, in collaboration with
ElGrandeToto
.
In November 2019, Manal signed a distribution deal with
RCA Records
, a division of
Sony Music France
, through her record company Bench & Guess Entertainment.
Currently, she is under an exclusive license agreement with the same label, and under a music publishing agreement with
Universal Music Publishing
.
Manal's current management team includes Anissa Jalab, former manager of Belgian rapper
Damso
, head of
Wagram Belgium
, and also manager of
ElGrandeToto
.
In May 2021, Manal released her first album entitled
360
, which included the hit single
Niya
.
Deprived of the stage during the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched, with the help of her husband Moncef Guessous, a streetwear brand called
Bari & Soch
.
In November 2021, Manal earned the 'Best Female Artist in Northern Africa' award at the 2021
All Africa Music Awards
for the second time in her career.
In May 2022, Manal performed "3ARI" for
COLORS
.
[3]
In October 2022, she was chosen to feature in
Light The Sky
, a song for the
2022 FIFA World Cup
in Qatar, collaborating with artists,
RedOne
,
Balqees
,
Rahma Riad
and
Nora Fatehi
.
[4]
Discography
[
edit
]
Albums
[
edit
]
Title
|
Released
|
Record label
|
Reference
|
"360"
|
21 May 2021
|
Bench & Guess Entertainment / Sony Music France
|
[5]
|
Singles
[
edit
]
Other appearances
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]