She’s effortlessly cool. Nadine El Roubi refuses to be confined by industry expectations. With a style that nods to that 90’s, downtown edge aesthetic – Black Doc Martens, oversized jeans and an off-the-shoulder black top, you might spot El Roubi roaming the streets of Williamsburg, or making her way to Empire Studios in Manhattan, she moves with a quiet confidence, in full control of her vision and success. 

This week marked a milestone in El Roubi's career as she took the stage for her first-ever headline show with Sarah Khatami and Nabeel opening the night at Littlefield in Brooklyn, New York. This show is more than just a performance, it is a declaration of her artistic independence. “I'm so excited I'm gonna sing with a group of background vocalists for the first time ever, which is big for me.” she shared.  For this show, she fully trusted her instincts, and directed the performance on her own terms. In the past, she leaned on the experiences of her fellow artists, hesitant to take the lead. 

Manifestation is central to her songwriting and show-planning processes– a ritual that grounds and allows her to fully visualize the work she’s bringing to life. “I’ve been writing, writing, writing how I see the show going,” She says. “And it's going to be amazing.”

Music has been her constant. Dare to say, her first love. As a child, her voice filled each room and her fingers graced every piano key. To put it simply, music was the essence of her existence. Throughout her childhood, her mother would fill the house with Celine Dion and Nancy Ajram, while her father shared his unapologetic love for Eminem’s "Mockingbird". 

Ballads from the homeland

It was in university that her music-identity crystalized. She was surrounded by a community of artists, specifically, Sudanese rappers - she found inspiration in their sound. In a way, it was a reminder of home. This, alongside her homesickness, led El Roubi to channel her emotions into her first release, "Throne". 

The song was an unfiltered reflection of an internal struggle, captured in her lyrics “I’m too small for my throne”, a confession of her self-doubt. Yet, in releasing it, she was already stepping into a form of confidence she hadn’t yet realized she carried. 

This song is special– El Roubi collaborated with Sudanese filmmakers to shoot its music video in her homeland, transforming her homesickness into something tangible.

She admits that "Throne" isn’t lyrically a song she would release today. Its premise of feeling small, no longer aligns with who she’s become. Now, she stands firm in her confidence, no longer second guessing the praise she receives, finally believing it. The imposter syndrome that once shadowed her faded away and is replaced with self-assurance. “Alhamdulillah, I think it's the best thing when you start to see yourself how you deserve to be seen.” El Roubi says. 

Nadine El Roubi on storytelling

El Roubi’s music is a blend of her Afro-Arab identities. She fuses the sounds, lyrics and stories of the places that have shaped her: Sudan, Egypt, Iran and America; it's a marriage of hip hop, neo-soul and R&B - You can’t confine her to a single genre - each song has its own tone and story. 

Her songwriting process is fluid, shifting based on her mood and the story she wants to tell. A true lover of metaphors, she rarely states her feelings outright. She allows her listeners to feel and see the intensity of the emotion rather than simply hearing it. “The process of creating is just about channeling,” she says. This poetic approach is evident in her most recent release, "God", where she sings, “God in the tears, God in the stars, God in my heart, against every art.”. The lyrics reflect a deep sense of security in her faith, a belief that her success is guided by something greater than herself. This reaffirms the confidence she longed for in her first release, and has since claimed as her own. 

A fusion of East and West

El Roubi refuses to define her music with one identity. Instead, she weaves the storytelling of Sudanese rap with the sonics of Western music, the soundtracks of her upbringing. She admires Sudanese rap’s raw and unfiltered reflections of life in Sudan.“It's so cool to hear them shout a street I know, or say we’re doing this every Thursday night and I understand that because I lived there and I see it happen.” she explains. 

Her music is an effort to bridge the sounds of both cultures and create something entirely new. 

She continues to dive deep in the nuances of Sudanese rap while training her ears to Arabic scales through the voices of Fairuz and Umm Kulthum. Her journey is an exploration of herself, and craft, while also being a reclamation of her cultural lineage.

With many accomplishments behind her, her journey is still far from over. After recording a new song, she’ll continue to walk through Times Square, with her headphones on, listening to her most recent track. In these moments she feels the weight of her dreams materializing around her. Kind of like a cinematic affirmation of how far she has come and how far she will go. She’s no longer just envisioning this life, she’s living it. 

For El Roubi, music is storytelling, memory and an act of resistance against being boxed in. She continues to push the boundaries and redefine the Afro-Arab sounds. One thing is clear, Nadine El Roubi is not just making music, she’s making musical history.