Emel is a multidisciplinary artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and visual storyteller, whose work travels across borders and genres.
Born and raised in Tunisia and based in New York, she has built a globally acclaimed career through five albums and international tours, mixing North African roots with electronic experimentation and poetic lyricism. Her work explores identity, exile, resilience, and liberation.
She rose to fame in 2011 when her protest song Kelmti Horra became an anthem of the Arab spring after a spontaneous a cappella performance in the streets of Tunis during the revolution. Since then, she has continuously expanded her artistic language from Ensen (2017) to Everywhere We Looked Was Burning (2019) and Tunis Diaries (2021) developing a distinct, cinematic sound that bridges avant-garde and global pop.
A boundary-pushing artist, Emel has performed on some of the world’s most symbolic stages, including the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, and across regions from the Middle East to Asia. Her work extends beyond music into collaborations with figures such as Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack), Shirin Neshat, Azzedine Alaia and leading fashion houses, as well as contributions to various soundtracks such as Assassin’s Creed: Mirage.
In 2024, she released MRA, a manifesto album created entirely by women and feminine-identifying artists from 22 countries, spanning six languages. A bold, genre-defying project, MRA embodies a collective artistic force and a reimagining of collaboration in a global context.
Rooted in her Arab-African heritage and shaped by feminist and decolonial thought, Emel creates work that resists categorization, using sound, her voice, and powerful imagery to build new narratives and challenge existing ones.
