In Moroccan Arabic, to describe someone who is well-behaved, grounded, and close to their roots, we say “Weld L’Ness.” Translating to “son of the people,” the dialectal phrase reflects a blend of humility and strong moral values that honor a person’s deep ties with their community — qualities that shine through everything Rabat-born rapper Stormy does. The 27-year-old wordsmith, who was in Libya as part of the Benghazi Summer Festival’s impressive lineup, took to the stage to showcase his signature sound and provide listeners with a glimpse of what his chart-topping hits sound like in a live setting.
“To be honest, it’s my first time in Libya. I had no expectations since I’ve never been here before,” the POPO singer told MILLE backstage. “I have a lot of Libyan friends who have always wanted me to visit, which is why I was so eager to come. Now that I’m here, I feel at home, surrounded by family. North Africans are known for warmly welcoming each other, and the experience so far has proven this sentiment true,” he continued.
Before his arrival, the rapper didn’t know just how big his following was in Libya. “Since I posted online about being here, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the welcome I’ve received— people have been sharing my music and posting selfies with me. If I can contribute to changing perceptions of Libya, it would be an honor,” he added.
@milleworlddotcom @STORMY PLAYING HIS CLASSIC HIT ´POPO’ LIVE IN #BENGHAZI #LIBYA ♬ original sound – milleworlddotcom
A fully-fledged star in his native Morocco, we couldn’t help but ask Stormy about his opinion on the local scene in Libya. The country, which has spent over a decade grappling with the fallouts of a revolution, the ebbs and flows of radical ideologies, and a constantly shifting political landscape, left little room for cultural life to take form and flourish. Despite this, young Libyans have, and still are, finding different avenues through the realm of the arts to express themselves, one of which is rap and hip-hop.
“In terms of the local scene, I’ve started listening since I got here. I’ve been checking out the guys I’ve met and chilled with. There’s definitely potential; it can develop and blow up. Ka7la and Mansor are a couple of the artists I’ve liked so far,” he shared.
Like so many others, Stormy has only just started tuning into the beats and lyrics coming out of Libya, a scene that’s still finding its voice amidst the chaos brought by so many years of forced change. Although he’s still getting acquainted with what’s happening on this side of North Africa, he’s quick to offer encouragement, advocating for Libyan artists to be given the space to make music without being boxed in by comparisons.
“I don’t like to compare countries. Music isn’t meant to be compared because not everyone starts from the same place. Everyone does with what they have at hand, their potential, and what they can draw from their own culture,” he explained, once again sharing how important it is for him to engage with the region’s respective markets.
“It’s important for me to create content here (in Libya); we artists need to constantly expand our reach, and that doesn’t just mean only in Europe or the US. We have our own markets, and the recognition you get in Europe isn’t the same as what you can achieve in Egypt or even here in Libya, in North Africa, or the Middle East,” he revealed, pointing out that this approach of looking beyond the West is recent.
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While the audience’s cheers are crucial for staying motivated, Stormy also stresses the importance of keeping your ego in check at all times as success can easily get to your head, especially in the music industry, where big egos come at a dime a dozen.”I try not to dwell on success when it happens. When I dropped the album, I didn’t celebrate—I just went to my hotel and tried to fall asleep,” he admitted. “That’s just how I am. I take everything in stride because I never thought I’d be here, hamdellah. Staying grounded helps; it keeps arrogance and ego on the side,” he said, attributing these two traits as the root causes behind many artists’ downfalls.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, though it’s easy to forget that. It really doesn’t. There are others doing much more important jobs,” he mused, revealing wanting to shift the approach he has towards his passion-turned-job.
“I want to approach my work with more feeling and less focus on deadlines. It comes out better that way. If I rush things, like releasing an album just because of financial pressure or to keep up with everyone else, it’s likely to backfire, either immediately or in the long run. I don’t view success as how big you get but how sustainable it is. The higher you rise, the harder the fall. I’m in this for the long haul, not a sprint,” he elaborated.
“The story of POPO is pretty wild. It all started when a track came out, which sang about Lucas Paquetá. Since Paquetá plays for West Ham alongside Nayef Aguerd (a Moroccan professional player), football edits featuring the two were often set to this song,” he explained. “One day, we were in a camp working on new music and I just thought, ‘Let’s try Brazilian funk.’ We recorded the song, and kept it for later. The rest now is history.
“The song blew up way beyond what I expected. It even sparked a trend where Brazilians started making videos to the song and in return kids in Morocco began learning Brazilian dance moves. There used to be a flight line between Rio and Casablanca, which has recently reopened. I don’t know if this song had anything to do with it, but if it did, where’s my cut?”
