A couple of years ago, Laith Al Husseini felt as though he were living two different lives.
During the day, the Palestinian-Jordanian talent was a fastidious medical student in Amman, while at night he stalked stages across the region as popular hip-hop artist The Synaptik.
Such a lifestyle became increasingly unsustainable.
Speaking to The National after the release, last week, of his new album, Al Qamar Wal Moheet (The Moon and the Ocean), Al Husseini recalls how balancing the hedonism of a music career with the strict discipline and moral codes of medicine resulted in a fraying mental state.
Something had to give and it arrived when Al Husseini graduated from medical school in the summer of 2019.
While his colleagues furthered their careers by finding internships in hospitals across Jordan, Al Husseini moved to the Palestinian city of Ramallah to focus on his music career.
“People would ask me why I moved here,” he says.
“As well as wanting a new environment, the place is inspiring as there is an extra margin of freedom because everything in Palestine is in limbo.
“There is more space to do what you want because authorities are focused on different things. When I moved here I just went all in and lived my wildest dreams, so to speak.”
A life in full motion
It was an intensive 12-month period, during which Al Husseini performed to crowds in packed venues from Beirut to Berlin, in addition to being snapped up by major record label Warner Music Middle East.
Such a full-throttle lifestyle had its own dangers, however, and Al Husseini’s personal crash happened in 2020. It wasn’t caused so much by the pandemic upending his lifestyle, he recalls, but in realising it was an existence that was essentially hollow.
"It's hard to explain how deeply I dived right into the lifestyle. I got a lot of tattoos and lost a lot of weight and I just became this different and darker person," he says.
"All my life, I wanted to be in the music industry because I wanted to stand out, be famous and be loved. But then once you are in there, you realise the nature of some of the people involved and the different values they have. Ironically, I finally made the internal journey to becoming The Synaptik and I didn’t like what I became.”
Al Qamar Wal Moheet is a document of that self-discovery and acceptance.
Brooding and at times haunting, the album finds Al Husseini refining and stretching his sound.
While his 2018 debut Om Al Mawjat stayed true to his trap hip-hop aesthetic, the follow-up is a richer work, with dollops of RnB, dark ambience and inventive vocal delivery ranging from colourful rapping to an anguished croon.
Almost every song, Al Husseini says, acts as a signpost from that internal journey.
“The first song of the album, Ela Al Manara, was written back in Amman and the chorus almost acts like a prayer for strength because I was leaving home, my parents and my sisters," he says.
"I was about to move Ramallah and this was a prayer hoping that I can be helped by the universe."
The resolution of his quest is found halfway through the album's startling title track.
The song is carried by forlorn pianos and the gentle taps of a hand drum, and Al Husseini laments the time spent chasing a dream that was ultimately unsatisfying.
"I am expressing the disillusionment and how reality arrived to smack me in the face," he says. "I definitely felt like something shattered and this was the end of that particular journey for me."
The next chapter
The song may have been placed in the middle of the album for sonic purposes, but it also serves as a metaphor for how life goes on.
For Al Husseini, it meant re-evaluating certain notions.
Where previously, he blamed the medical profession for inhibiting his creative life, he realised it was the anchor allowing his music career to flourish, without him losing himself along the way.
It is for that reason Al Husseini began his internship in January in a Jerusalem hospital, with the goal of opening up his own clinic.
"The medical world is much simpler and straightforward and has none of the toxicity and dishonesty the music industry has,” he says.
"My chest and conscience no longer weighs heavy. I just feel that I found the right balance between the two worlds and I made peace with that."
London calling
In addition to helping him write a career-best album, Al Husseini's new-found Zen has also resulted in him being more open to new opportunities, one of which is collaborating with Egyptian rapper Felukah. The two have worked together on a series of songs that they will perform in a London show commissioned by Shubbak Festival and cultural organisation Marsm.
They are set to perform the new songs, Nefsi and Allaya'teek – which also come with music videos shot in Egypt – at Camden’s Jazz Cafe on Friday, October 22.
For someone whose material is intensely personal, Al Husseini says the collaboration with Felukah, who lives in New York, was ultimately rewarding.
“It took us a while at first to see what we had in common because we come from completely different backgrounds,” he says.
"But we are humans and artists in the end. We have the same struggles that creatives go through in trying to be true to yourself and not lose yourself.
At the end of the day, it really comes down to integrity."
The Synaptik and Feluka perform at the Jazz Cafe in London on Friday, October 22. Tickets cost £21 ($29) and are available at shubbak.co.uk
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
UAE%20FIXTURES
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
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THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
SPECS
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
Chelsea 1
Azpilicueta (36')
West Ham United 1
Hernandez (73')
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
The%20specs
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
