Mond teams up with El Waili on the defiant new single ‘Esme,’ a track that takes its name from Mond’s evolving identity. Born Muhab, the artist’s shift to the moniker Ilmond signals a constant state of transformation, one that Mond explores through a darker, more guarded version of himself.
The track opens with muffled voices calling out his former name, setting an introspective tone before Mond enters with a slow, controlled yet aggressive flow. He moves from reflective storytelling in the intro to a more rhythmic, boastful cadence in the verses, asserting self-independence and rejecting external judgment and opinion.
This resistance is made explicit through callbacks to his earlier work. In one striking line, he says:
مش بشرب في البارات.. بكتب في البارات بتطلع مني مخدرات / مجوهرات
Here, Mond reclaims imagery he once associated with selling drugs, reframing it as “gems”, his writing itself becoming a valuable, direct reference to his self-titled track ‘Ilmond’ from his debut album Intifada, where he says:
مش ببيع مزيكا، أنا ببيع مخدرات
Mond، an artist shaped by industry disillusionment, emerges with a harder, more materialistic exterior as a form of self-protection. There’s a clear shift from being satisfied with little to recognizing money and power as necessary shields against exploitation. Deeply personal and unflinchingly defiant, ‘Esme’ captures the bittersweet reality of fame, where an artist’s name grows more valuable than their actual personhood.
Production comes courtesy of El Waili, who grounds the track in a classic boom-bap hip-hop framework. The beat unfolds gradually, led by guitar riffs before transitioning into a bass-heavy section built around vocal chops used as a rhythmic instrument. Toward the end, the track breaks into a slower, half-time version of the same beat, switching to a smoother and longer outro.
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