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]
Medina | |
|---|---|
 Alibi (left) and Sam-E (right) in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sweden |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 2003–2018 2021–present[1] |
| Members | Sam-E (Sami Daniel Rekik) Alibi (Ali Jammali) |
| Website | www |
Career
edit.jpeg)
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
edit
Ali Jammali
editAli 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
editSam-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
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [7] | ||
| 2005 | Fullblod | – |
| 2007 | 7 dar | – |
| 2008 | Mosh Normal (Tunisian album) | – |
| 2012 | Hayat | – |
| 2013 | Sista Minuten | 15 |
| 2015 | Haffla Avenyn | 6 |
| 2023 | Tropicalisera | – |
Mixtapes
edit- 2004: Rumble in Fiskayyet
- 2004: Varsågod de e gratis Vol 1 (free album online in 2005)
- 2009: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 2
- 2010: Haffla Music Vol. 1
- 2010: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 3
- 2011: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 4
- 2011: Haffla Music Vol. 2
- 2012: Svarta tårar
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak position |
Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [7] | ||||
| 2004 | "Magdansös" (aka "Medina Anthem (Magdansös)") |
48 | Rumble in Fiskayyet | |
| 2005 | "Fortsätt gå" (aka "Zid Emchi (Fortsätt gå)") |
58 | Fullblod | |
| 2012 | "Där palmerna bor" | 13 | 2× Platinum | Hayat |
| 2013 | "Miss Decibel" | 2 | Gold | Sista Minuten |
| 2014 | "Se på mig nu" | 10 | ||
| "Doga Doga" (feat. Arash) | – | |||
| 2015 | "Tills vi koolar" | 24 | Haffla Avenyn | |
| 2022 | "In i dimman" | 2 [8] |
||
| "Nema problema" | —[A] | |||
| "Säg nåt" | 89 [10] |
|||
| 2023 | "Torka dina tårar" | —[B] | ||
| "När krutet har lagt sig" | —[C] | |||
| 2024 | "Que Sera" | 1 [13] |
||
| "Om igen" | —[D] |
Notes
- ^ "Nema problema" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number one on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[9]
- ^ "Torka dina tårar" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 18 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[11]
- ^ "När krutet har lagt sig" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 18 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[12]
- ^ "Om igen" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number two on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[14]
Discography: Ali Jammali
editAlbums
edit- as songwriter
- 2010: The Cage (by G Mansour)[15]
- Ali Jammali co-wrote 10 tracks from the 16-track album
- All tracks recorded and mixed by Ali Jammali & Sami Rekik at Medina Studios
Mixtapes
edit- Solo as Alibrorsh
- 2010: Parabol Paradis
Discography: Sami Rekik
edit(using various names, mainly Sam-E, but also the mononym Sami (SAMI))
Albums
edit- Om ni ba Wuisste
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak position |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [16] | |||
| 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) |
67 | Mitt folk |
| "Till slut" (SödraSidan feat. Sam-E) |
– | ||
| 2017 | "Utanför" (Anis Don Demina featuring Sami and Elias Abbas) |
42 | Anis |
| 2021 | "90-talet" (WAHL feat. SAMI) |
13 [17] |
Melodifestivalen 2021 |
| "Flaggan i topp" (with Anis Don Demina) |
4 [18] |
Underbarn |
References
edit- ^ Ek, Torbjörn (11 November 2021). "Medina återförenas – i Melodifestivalen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Rapbattle med Medina (in Swedish) Yle
- ^ KingSize magazine: Video – Medina "Där palmerna bor" - Ny singel från duons nysläppta album Hayat (in Swedish)
- ^ MTV: Medina biography
- ^ "The 30 artists competing in Sweden's Melodifestivalen 2024". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
- ^ "90-TALSBINGO: Här är alla 90-talsreferenser i Wahl och Samis låt". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ a b SwedishCharts.com: Medina discography
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 12". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 29". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 45". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 25". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 43". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 12, 2024". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 22, 2024". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Discogs: G Mansour - The Cage page
- ^ SwedishCharts.com: Sam-E discography
- ^ SwedishCharts.com: Wahl feat. Sami discography
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 25" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 June 2021.