Medina (duo) explained

Medina
Origin:Sweden
Genre:Hip hop
Years Active:2003–2018
2021–present[1]
Current Members:Sam-E (Sami Daniel Rekik)
Alibi (Ali Jammali)

Medina is a Swedish hip hop duo formation with Arabic influences made up of Swedish artists of Tunisian descent, being Sam-E (born Sami Daniel Rekik), a former professional football player in Tunisia and Alibi (born Ali Jammali). Sam-E is also of Finnish descent as his mother is Finnish.[2]

Career

The two started making music in 2003 under the name Medina after they met in Knivsta promoting a special genre they called "Haffla music" with rhythm from the Arab World mixed with hip hop.[3]

Their debut release was mixtape/album Rumble in Fiskayyet and the resulting single "Magdansös".[4] They followed up with a series of albums, Fullblod, 7 dar, Mosh Normal, Hayat and Sista Minuten. Their single "Miss Decibel" from the album Sista Minuten reached number 2 on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish Singles Chart. They have also released series of 4 mixtapes under the title Varsågod de e gratis and two volumes in the series Haffla Music.

Sami Rekik of the duo took part in Melodifestivalen 2021 in collaboration with WAHL with the song "90-talet". Medina reunited to enter Melodifestivalen 2022 with the song "In i dimman" and qualified for the final from Heat 4; at the final on 12 March 2022, they gained 109 points and finished in 3rd place. They participated in Melodifestivalen 2024 with "Que Sera",[5] finishing second in their heat on 2 March 2024 and qualifying to the final where they came second.

Solo projects

Ali Jammali

Ali Jammali collaborated with G Mansour co-writing 10 of the rappers 16-track album The Cage. He alsor recorded and produced the track alongside Sami Rekik in the Medina Studios.

Sami Rekik

Sam-E has released his own solo releases including the album Om ni ba Wuisste and collaborated with other artists including with OIAM in "Avundsjuka", a charting hit on Sverigetopplistan. He has also collaborated with SödraSidan, Alpis, Petter, Anis Don Demina, Elias Abbas and many others.

In 2021, Sami Rekik under the mononym SAMI took part in Melodifestivalen 2021 with the song "90-talet" alongside member of duo SödraSidan Christopher Wahlberg under the stage name WAHL.[6] The duo performed their song on 13 February 2021 during the second semi-final of the qualification round for Eurovision Song Contest for representing Sweden in Eurovision. WAHL featuring SAMI, the song came 6th of 7 acts during the night failing to qualify to the final or the Second Chance. However their song has charted in Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish Singles Chart.

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumPeak
position
SWE
[7]
2005Fullblod
20077 dar
2008Mosh Normal (Tunisian album)
2012Hayat
2013Sista Minuten 15
2015Haffla Avenyn 6
2023Tropicalisera

Mixtapes

Singles

YearSinglePeak
position
CertificationAlbum
SWE
2004"Magdansös"
(aka "Medina Anthem (Magdansös)")
48Rumble in Fiskayyet
2005"Fortsätt gå"
(aka "Zid Emchi (Fortsätt gå)")
58Fullblod
2012"Där palmerna bor"132× PlatinumHayat
2013"Miss Decibel"2GoldSista Minuten
2014"Se på mig nu"10
"Doga Doga" (feat. Arash)
2015"Tills vi koolar"24Haffla Avenyn
2022"In i dimman"2
[8]
"Nema problema"
"Säg nåt"89
[9]
2023"Torka dina tårar"
"När krutet har lagt sig"
2024"Que Sera"1
[10]
"Om igen"

Notes

Discography: Ali Jammali

Albums

as songwriter

Mixtapes

Solo as Alibrorsh

Discography: Sami Rekik

(using various names, mainly Sam-E, but also the mononym Sami (SAMI))

Albums

Singles

YearSinglePeak
position
Album
SWE
[12]
2002"Riktiga proffs"
(Fjärde Världen feat. Sam-E & Jesper)
2014"Avundsjuka"
(OIAM feat. Sam-E)
26
"Stoppa mig"
(Alpis feat. Sam-E)
2015"Kul på vägen"
(Petter feat. Sam-E & Sara Zacharias)
67Mitt folk
"Till slut"
(SödraSidan feat. Sam-E)
2017"Utanför"
42Anis
2021"90-talet"
(WAHL feat. SAMI)
13
[13]
Melodifestivalen 2021
"Flaggan i topp"
4
[14]
Underbarn

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Medina återförenas – i Melodifestivalen. Aftonbladet. 12 November 2021. 11 November 2021. Torbjörn. Ek. sv.
  2. https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2014/06/30/rapbattle-med-medina Rapbattle med Medina
  3. http://www.kingsizemagazine.se/nyheter/video-medina-dar-palmerna-bor/ KingSize magazine: Video – Medina "Där palmerna bor" - Ny singel från duons nysläppta album Hayat
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20150218140219/http://www.mtv.com/artists/medina-2/ MTV: Medina biography
  5. Web site: The 30 artists competing in Sweden's Melodifestivalen 2024. 2023-12-01. 2023-12-01. Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
  6. Web site: 90-TALSBINGO: Här är alla 90-talsreferenser i Wahl och Samis låt. Aftonbladet. 19 February 2021.
  7. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Medina+%5BSE%5D SwedishCharts.com: Medina discography
  8. Web site: Veckolista Singlar, vecka 12. Sverigetopplistan. 25 March 2022.
  9. Web site: Veckolista Singlar, vecka 45. Sverigetopplistan. 12 November 2022.
  10. Web site: Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 12, 2024. Sverigetopplistan. 23 March 2024.
  11. https://www.discogs.com/G-Mansour-The-Cage/release/16249700 Discogs: G Mansour - The Cage page
  12. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Sam-E SwedishCharts.com: Sam-E discography
  13. https://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Wahl+feat%2E+Sami SwedishCharts.com: Wahl feat. Sami discography
  14. Web site: Veckolista Singlar, vecka 25. sv. Sverigetopplistan. 24 June 2021.