The 2024 Hopscotch Festival that took place in October of last year brought Danny Brown and Jadakiss to Atlantic Canada’s biggest city.
And yet, it was another artist who stole the spotlight when he raised Palestine’s flag to the audience, having them chant “Free Palestine,” before delivering the set of a lifetime, hyping up the crowd while uniting them with one common idea: liberation.
This artist was BASYL. A Palestinian rapper with smooth, melodic flows, he began in the Halifax music scene a little over two years ago. In 2025 alone, he’s managed to sell out his first headline gig, release a killer four-track EP Love Bombers, and is releasing a brand new single and music video on Aug. 1.
His music touches on a wide range of themes: love, loneliness, and oppression. It’s inspirational, low key, personable, and most of all, a reflection of BASYL’s experience and philosophy.
Finding a path
BASYL is the stage name for Basel Sabri, who was once an environmental engineering student unsure of where life was taking him. As Sabri says in an interview with The Coast, the life of an engineer was not what he had pictured for himself, and he soon found himself within a mid-education depression.
“I’m always going to love that, but the lifestyle of an engineer was not one that I wanted to live, and so that fueled the depression a little bit.”
Through introspection, Sabri found that what he wanted to do was make music. He’d always loved music, but the thought of making his own hadn’t settled in.
“I love music more than anything,” he says. “No matter how bad I’m doing in life or whatever, like, it’s always there for me. It’s there when I’m happy, it’s there when I’m sad… Also, kind of like on a personal, knowing yourself kind of level, it helps me a lot with my emotions, and I feel emotions that I, when I’m listening to music, don’t necessarily in my regular life.”
If he loved music so much, could he turn it into a career? If he started now, could he learn how to produce, and could he do it while staying in school and finishing his degree?
“That was in 2018,” he says. “At that point… I just started attempting to learn how to produce, and I was hit with the wall of a learning curve, like with software and stuff. And then I was like, you know what, I’m just going to graduate, and then I’ll figure myself out.”
After school, Sabri found a cushy office job, allowing him to make music videos on the side for fellow hip-hop artist Shanii. He did this for two years, but still found there was an itch that hadn’t been scratched.
Sabri immediately began work on his own tracks, getting back to learning how to produce and crafting a sound that was right for him. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of opportunities. He’s been featured on several songs with other artists, released two EPs, performed at Hopscotch three years in a row, and rocked his first solo show at Stillwell Brewing.
“It’s really the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” says Sabri. “Immediately from the moment I decided to put out my first few tracks, I felt like I’d arrived in life.”
Constant improvement
Every step has been a new adventure for Sabri; a new way to improve his skillset, learn from his past and make his future all the more promising. His newest EP, Love Bombers, is a prime example.
“In between the first EP and the second was kind of like, OK, I need to up the productivity and all that stuff, and then you start running into a lot of issues when you want to release a lot of music all the time. I started learning about different things about mixing and mastering, and getting that always right.
“So, having that project out, obviously more music out, but it meant a lot to me because it was kind of like, OK, here we go, I’m opening the floodgates now, like I’m finally ready to step into second gear.”
His new EP led to his solo show, which was an entirely different beast. Along with giving a top-notch performance, he had to manage ticket sales, and the stress was getting to him.
“I actually had a lot of second thoughts,” Sabri says. “Should I not do this? This is a lot of work. Honestly, on the day of, all the nerves went away. I had that classic, textbook moment of, OK, it was all worth it. It was more than what I wanted it to be. A proud moment in my career so far.”
His new song, “chill fr”, is about appreciating the little moments. Pausing the endless sprint to the imaginary finish line to see what’s really important about life. Yet, he admits it feels wrong at times to feel those beautiful moments when the world is falling apart.
“Your selfish priorities of being a human, wanting to live your best life, all that stuff—it clashes with what your community and what your people are going through,” says Sabri, referring to the ongoing war and mass starvation in Gaza. “It makes it like a human battle, an internal battle.”
Sabri has liberated himself through his music in so many ways. He found a career he loves, opportunities he wouldn’t trade back, and a mighty local fanbase that will show up for his shows. Hopefully, he can also liberate those who listen to his music.
“I find a way to align my values and my morals and, like, what ultimately my message is like my purpose as a human. I’m providing the voice of my people—the voice of everybody that’s oppressed.”
BASYL will be one of several performers at the inaugural From Day 2 Dusk festival in downtown Halifax at Maxwell’s Courtyard. He’ll be performing with Quake Matthews and Kayo during the evening on Saturday, Aug. 16, starting at 7:30pm.
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2025.