10 Best Songs That Make You Feel Everything at Once according to BIJI
BIJI have never made music that sits still in one feeling. Formed by Kurdish-Swedish rapper, actor and poet Robin Nazari and director-producer Maceo Frost, the Stockholm duo have spent the past five years building a world where Kurdish heritage collides with house, hip-hop and afrobeats; a sound that, much like the diaspora experience it draws from, refuses to be boxed in. That tension runs through their debut album 'LEGENDS', a 12-track meditation on ancestry, sacrifice and community, built from archival melodies, family voices and the kind of joy that insists on holding hands with grief.
So it makes sense that when we asked BIJI to pick 10 songs that make you feel everything at once, they leaned straight into that in-between space.
"We wanted to choose songs that don’t just make you feel one thing," BIJI explain. "The music we connect with can hold a lot of emotions at the same time from nostalgia, happiness, sadness, longing, energy, even a feeling of home. Especially with BIJI, so much of what inspires us comes from different places, cultures and moments in our lives, so we liked the idea of choosing songs that reflect that feeling of being somewhere between emotions and worlds. These are 10 songs that, for different reasons, can completely transport us and make us feel everything at once."
The result is a list as layered as their own music - nostalgia sitting next to euphoria, longing next to home. Here are the 10 songs that transport BIJI completely.
1. Hearin’ Aid - Higher!
"When in need of Life Force I play this record. It’s my favorite song by my father, Damon Frost’s rap duo Hearin’ Aid together with Aaron Phiri that debuted 2006. This song gives me goosebumps to this day and I love the modern twist on Gospel and Hip Hop. My dad also produced it and the production philosophy behind it informs a lot of my decisions today, with the sauce being mixing crusty samples with something clean and exploring the contrast between."
2. Kizz Daniel - Marhaba
"Because it’s a genious fusion of folklore and modern music and the bridge between cultures. A big inspiration for us when making music. Total original vibe and makes us dance everytime."
3. Sébastien Tellier - La Ritournelle
"Because it takes 5 minutes before the vocal comes in. I think this is a great example of when a song is able to transcend. Whatever that means…cathartic! I remember being a teenager on the train feeling all the teenage emo feelings and this song was my comfort lol."
4. Asap Ferg - Floor Seats
"Maybe one of our most-listened songs, it has that banger energy you stumble upon once every blue moon. And the Prodigy 'Smack My Bitch Up' sample leads us into the next pick."
5. Prodigy - Firestarter
"Because this was theeeee shit as a kid. I remember being plastered in front of the television waiting all day on MTV for the video to come on. It has all the raw pure energy you would ever need if you needed to."
6. Omar Souleyman - Warni Warni
"The second the song starts, with the signature synth in the beginning. Everybody is shouting in the crowd. The power this song has is like nothing else. This Kurdish folklore song resinates with so much people outside the ”community”. It’s fascinating to see the impact of this song, you can’t play anything after this song that will keep the same energy."
7. Asake, Wizkid - MMS
"How was this song even made? Everything is so in pocket. It’s like a painting... The details, the vibe, the voice. I wouldn’t call this a song, it’s more like life captured in sounds."
8. Nebay Meles - HELT
"I would say that Nebay is one of the most talented artist and producers I know. The energy in the songs is so pure and true, even the ad-libs are on another level.
How he pronounced, write and sing over the songs makes the songs to one piece of art coming just from him. And this live… is something else!"
9. Koma Amed - Hoy Memo
"This Kurish folklore record by Koma Amed is a song I listen to everyday. This song takes me home. Even though though the song is sad, it’s give gives me strength. It’s a song that never gets old."
10. Xatar - Baba aller Babas im Land
"Even if I don’t understand German, I can feel it. This is from the legend Xatar, he represents the Kurdish diaspora in Europe before anyone else. through him a lot of us could be proud and feel represented. This song in the morning give me power to wake up and GO!"
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