ABIR
ABIR is a New York City-based artist from Morocco. Coming off the success of her gold-certified record “Finest Hour” and 2018 debut EP Mint, ABIR’s new EP Heat instills a thrilling new energy into the pop landscape. When matched with ABIR’s magnetic take on pop/R&B, the result is a gorgeously textured body of work, perfectly spotlighting her hypnotic vocal presence and extraordinary range. While Heat shows ABIR’s more vulnerable side on the soulful breakup song “Last Lap,” much of the EP lets her strong-minded nature shine to its fullest extent. In the spirit of breaking boundaries, “Yallah” emerges as one of the project’s most powerful tracks, an unbridled anthem for marginalized communities everywhere. In bringing Heat to life, ABIR headed back to Morocco and shot two videos in the desert outside Marrakesh, carefully assembling a team made up almost entirely of Arab creatives. To that end, she considers Heat to be the culmination of many years of growth and self-discovery—a journey that extends to a newfound connection with the meaning of her name, an Arabic word that translates as “fragrance of a flower” and ultimately signifies a certain blossoming to ABIR.