Born just as the ’90s began, El Castro (aka Mohamed Marwanni) is an archetypal child of that decade, finding his place among his peers on the internet. Castro’s 2017 single “Manhirech” reached millions of views on YouTube and propelled the Tunisian rapper into the Arabic hip-hop scene. Like his contemporaries, many of his tracks are inspired by US rap tropes: he drops in references to McDonald’s, Los Angeles and video games. But that’s not without socio-political commentary on his home country, set to solemn piano backing and subtle trap beats.
