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For generations, the Arab world has remained rooted in a resilient cultural identity, shaped by a rich heritage that continues to inspire its artistic landscape. Across the region, generations of talent have brought this identity to life through art, music and creative expression. At the heart of this cultural conversation are Arab women, who have long stood as pillars of strength while challenging conventions and carving out spaces for their voices to be heard. And when two of them come together, the impact is all the more powerful.
Now, GRAZIA sits down with former cover star Zeyne, 28, for her latest collaboration Kentili with iconic Moroccan pop singer Manal, 33. Two artists whose work bridges Arab identity with the wider global cultural conversation, bringing their distinct perspectives into a shared creative vision.
Having long admired each other’s work, the collaboration came together naturally. With both artists being established as prominent voices in the region’s music scene, the pairing felt almost inevitable. Yet, rather than attempting to create a sound that simply merged their identities, the two approached the collaboration with a shared desire to find something that felt authentic to both.
Reflecting on how the collaboration came to life, Zeyne explains, “When the opportunity finally came, it didn’t feel like we needed to force a ‘Zeyne x Manal’ sound. It was more about finding something we could both genuinely see ourselves in.”
At its core, Kentili explores the feeling of reaching the end of something into which you have poured so much of yourself, only to realise that the other person was never quite meeting you where you stood. While the song carries a consistent emotional thread, the two artists bring contrasting perspectives to the experience of letting go. One captures the grief of an impending loss, questioning what could have been, while the other begins to recognise that it is time to move forward, regardless of the hurt that remains. Together, these perspectives create a track that moves between heartbreak and acceptance, allowing both sides of the experience to coexist.
As Zeyne puts it: “I think that edge gives the song a different kind of emotional energy, because letting go isn’t always soft or sad. Sometimes it comes with a bit of attitude too, which gave us so much to play with emotionally.”
Kentili occupies an intricate space between heartbreak and relief, capturing the contradictions that emerge when releasing something that once meant everything. Beneath the lingering hurt lies the realisation that choosing yourself can be an act of strength in its own right. It is this emotional duality that gives the track its depth, with lyrics that reflect the tension between knowing when to walk away and still feeling drawn towards what you are leaving behind.
“Even in the lyrics, there’s that conflict between knowing better and still feeling pulled back. I wanted the delivery to have that same movement, where sometimes it feels more held back and other times the emotion comes out much more directly. Manal has her own way of expressing that feeling, so having those different emotional reactions within the same track made the whole thing feel much more honest.”
Having spent more than a decade building her identity within the Arab music industry, Manal brings a wealth of experience to the collaboration. For Zeyne, whose rise in the industry has been more recent, working alongside an artist she has long admired offered an opportunity to move beyond appreciation from afar and engage directly with her creative process. The result was an exchange that extended beyond combining two voices, allowing each artist to explore the other’s musical instincts and discover new possibilities.
As Zeyne reflects, “You have an idea of someone’s artistic world from the outside, and then suddenly you’re inside the process with them and discovering how they think, what they pick up on and what excites them. I think that made the collaboration really fun because it wasn’t just about getting two voices onto one song. We were genuinely exploring each other’s styles and seeing where they could take us. Kentili ended up feeling like something neither of us would have made in exactly the same way alone, which is probably my favourite thing about it.”
The duo approaches the collaboration with mutual admiration rather than competition. Bringing together their distinct cultures and identities as artists, they create a seamless blend where neither has to make herself smaller for the collaboration to work.
“I think there’s power in that, especially in a region where women in music can so easily be compared to one another. And honestly, Manal was incredibly encouraging in the studio, and I really valued that. She’s been in the industry for so long and has such a strong sense of who she is as an artist, so getting to work that closely with her was genuinely inspiring and the energy between us felt really generous.”
Both artists are known for weaving their individual heritage into their music, with Zeyne drawing on her Palestinian-Jordanian roots and Manal embracing her Moroccan identity. Rather than forcing their influences into a single sound, they allow their respective backgrounds to blend organically, creating a natural interplay between their dialects and musical instincts.
“They’re allowed to sit next to each other rather than being compressed into one sound. That was really exciting for me because I got to step into parts of Manal’s world that I wouldn’t necessarily arrive at on my own, and she was doing the same with mine. So you still know exactly who you’re listening to, but hearing those identities in the same record gives each one a slightly different context.”
Musically, the two artists bring distinct sensibilities to the track. While Zeyne’s discography leans towards soft, melodic beats, Manal’s sound is often characterised by more upbeat rhythms.
When asked how they created a song that bridges these different styles, Zeyne explains, “That was honestly one of the most fun parts of making it. As I previously mentioned, Manal and I naturally approach music with different energies, so instead of trying to neutralise that difference, we played with it. There are parts of Kentili where I could stay closer to the melodic side of what I naturally do, while other parts have more movement and rhythmic energy that pushed me somewhere slightly different. I think we found the overlap through the emotion of the song.”
When two prominent women in the region’s music scene come together, the impact extends beyond the track itself. Their collaboration creates another bridge between the Arab world and the global cultural conversation, demonstrating how heritage can remain at the heart of music while evolving through new perspectives. With Kentili, Zeyne and Manal bring their distinct identities into dialogue, creating a sound that makes room for both individuality and shared experience.
