Medina (duo)
| Company type | Music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Sweden |
| Products | Hip hop music, albums, mixtapes |
Medina is a Swedish hip hop pair influenced by Arabic sounds, consisting of Sam-E (Sami Daniel Rekik), who previously played professional football in Tunisia, and Alibi (Ali Jammali). Sam-E also carries Finnish roots from his mother’s side.
Career
Established in 2003 following their encounter in Knivsta, Medina crafted a distinctive genre known as "Haffla music," which fuses hip hop with traditional rhythms from the Arab region.
Their initial mixtape/album, Rumble in Fiskayyet, included the track "Magdansös." Over time, they have released multiple albums such as Fullblod, 7 dar, Mosh Normal, Hayat, and Sista Minuten. The single "Miss Decibel" from the album Sista Minuten reached number two on Sweden’s official singles chart, Sverigetopplistan. Additionally, Medina has put out four mixtapes under the title Varsågod de e gratis along with two editions of Haffla Music.
In Melodifestivalen 2021, Sam-E performed with WAHL on the song "90-talet." Medina came back together for Melodifestivalen 2022 with their entry "In i dimman," advancing from Heat 4 and securing third place in the final with 109 points. For Melodifestivalen 2024, they competed with "Que Sera," finishing second in their heat and ultimately placing second in the final round.
Ali Jammali
Ali Jammali contributed as co-writer on ten tracks of G Mansour’s 16-track album The Cage and produced one of these songs alongside Sami Rekik at Medina Studios.
Sami Rekik
Sam-E has pursued solo endeavors, including releasing the album Om ni ba Wuisste, and has collaborated with various artists such as OIAM on the charting single "Avundsjuka" on Sverigetopplistan. His partnerships extend to acts like SödraSidan, Alpis, Petter, Anis Don Demina, and Elias Abbas.
In 2021, Sami Rekik, performing as SAMI, joined forces with SödraSidan’s Christopher Wahlberg (WAHL) for Melodifestivalen 2021 performing "90-talet." Though their song placed sixth in the semi-final and did not advance, it still appeared on the Swedish singles chart.
Albums
| Year | Album | Highest chart position |
|---|---|---|
| SWE | ||
| 2005 | Fullblod | Template:Spaced ndash |
| 2007 | 7 dar | Template:Spaced ndash |
| 2008 | Mosh Normal (album released in Tunisia) | Template:Spaced ndash |
| 2012 | Hayat | Template:Spaced ndash |
| 2013 | Sista Minuten | 15 |
| 2015 | Haffla Avenyn | 6 |
| 2023 | Tropicalisera | Template:Spaced ndash |
Mixtapes
- 2004: Rumble in Fiskayyet
- 2004: Varsågod de e gratis Vol 1 (released online free of charge in 2005)
- 2009: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 2
- 2010: Haffla Music Vol. 1
- 2010: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 3
- 2011: Varsågod de e gratis Vol. 4
- 2011: Haffla Music Vol. 2
- 2012: Svarta tårar
Singles
| Year | Single | Highest Chart Position |
Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | ||||
| 2004 | "Magdansös" (also known as "Medina Anthem (Magdansös)") |
48 | Rumble in Fiskayyet | |
| 2005 | "Fortsätt gå" (also titled "Zid Emchi (Fortsätt gå)") |
58 | Fullblod | |
| 2012 | "Där palmerna bor" | 13 | 5× Platinum | Hayat |
| 2013 | "Miss Decibel" | 2 | Gold | Sista Minuten |
| 2014 | "Se på mig nu" | 10 | ||
| "Doga Doga" (featuring Arash) | ||||
| "Tills vi koolar" | ||||
| "In i dimman" | ||||
| "Torka dina tårar" | ||||
| "Que Sera" | ||||
| "Genom eld & vatten" |
Notes
Albums
- credited as songwriter
- 2010: The Cage (performed by G Mansour)
- Ali Jammali contributed as co-writer on 10 out of 16 songs
- Recording and mixing for all tracks completed by Ali Jammali & Sami Rekik at Medina Studios
Mixtapes
- Solo project under the name Alibrorsh
- 2010: Parabol Paradis
Discography: Sami Rekik
(primarily known as Sam-E, also uses Sami (SAMI))
Albums
- Om ni ba Wuisste
Singles
| Year | Single | Highest Chart Position |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | |||
| 2002 | "Riktiga proffs" (Fjärde Världen featuring Sam-E & Jesper) |
– | |
| 2014 | "Avundsjuka" (OIAM featuring Sam-E) |
26 | |
| "Stoppa mig" (Alpis featuring Sam-E) |
– | ||
| 2015 | "Kul på vägen" (Petter featuring Sam-E & Sara Zacharias) |
67 | Mitt folk |
| "Till slut" (SödraSidan featuring Sam-E) |
– | ||
| 2017 | "Utanför" (Anis Don Demina featuring Sami & Elias Abbas) |
42 | Anis |
| 2021 | "90-talet" (WAHL featuring SAMI) |
13 | Melodifestivalen 2021 |
| "Flaggan i topp" (with Anis Don Demina) |
4 | Underbarn |