Friday Love: Rajae

Rajae means “stronger than hope, less than will” in Arabic.

Rajae’s artistic path is based on three foundations: adventure, discipline and faith. At the age of four this young Muslim woman discovered the love of music and has been blossoming ever since.

At the age of 16, she was the first North African to be admitted into the Dutch Conservatory, and the first Muslim woman to start her own record label, Truthseeker Records, at the age of 25. She honors her Arabic musical heritage by reinventing and blending her lyrics and melodies with music from the West. With her album Incarnation (2006), she took her first step towards creating a new Maghreb genre. Her second release, Hand Of Fatima (2009), explores the connections she made while recording her first album.

In November 2012, for the fourth year in a row, she was the only contemporary female singer to be featured in the Arts and Culture section of The Muslim 500 – a list of the most influential Muslims in the world.

In September 2012, Rajae wrote and filmed her first short documentary, ¡HOPE! The film explores the transformation of emotions & identity, the acceptance of Muslim women in the performing arts, and reactions to their public presence.

Rajae’s third album – a crossover of pop, jazz, folk and soul with a soupçon of her North African roots – will be released in late 2013, and she is developing her second short documentary,which will start be filming in Morocco in 2014.