Undoubtedly, Persian rap is currently experiencing its most exciting period, both musically and non-musically, and is one of the most important current scenes in Iranian music. Based on statistics from music platforms such as SoundCloud and Spotify, thousands of songs by Iranian rappers were published in 2023, demonstrating the impressive expansion of this music style compared to others. The significance of this issue increases due to the impossibility for Iranian rappers to work officially in Iran. In other words, the perseverance of Iranian rappers over the last two decades has elevated this music style to the most important and serious artistic field in Iran. Selecting 100 songs from this year’s plethora of high-quality songs was a challenging task. However, in the following, we will analyze the 20 selected songs of 2023 as chosen by “The Persian Magazine.”
If we consider one of the most important elements for measuring the quality and success of a song in Persian rap, its ability to penetrate the broader society of Iranian music audiences beyond the confines of Persian rap, the most significant Persian rap song of 2023 would be “Damn Things,” by Dorcci with production by Ashkan Kagan. It was exclusively released on Putak’s YouTube channel under the“Section13.” In this song, Dorcci has ventured into a completely different yet innovative formula compared to his previous works, infusing a touch of popularization into his signature style. It appears that prior to creating this song, Dorcci was fully cognizant of the high likelihood of success associated with such a strategy. Considering his aspiration to transcend the Persian rap scene at this stage of his career, he ingeniously adopted this approach. The importance and value of such success lie in the fact that this strategy solely focused on changes and developments in the musical structure of the work. In other words, Dorcci accomplished his goals within the Iranian music scene without compromising his artistic integrity, distinguishing himself from many other Iranian rappers who resort to any means for fame. Through a relatively straightforward approach, Dorcci critiques the taboos and life challenges faced by Iranian youth with utmost candor. It’s worth noting that in addition to Dorcci’s creativity and skill in crafting “Damn Things,” Ashkan Kagan’s production, reminiscent of Daft Punk’s work, played an undeniable role in the song’s impressive success. Dorcci’s triumph in this song, coupled with the expectations of the Persian rap audience and his fans, will undoubtedly make his path much more challenging than before. His prolonged silence for several months may also be attributed to this factor.
Pozx is one of the prominent figures in Iran’s alternative music scene. Despite his focus on “Lo-fi”, he has always maintained his connection with the hip-hop community and collaborated with Persian rappers and producers such as Mehrad Hidden, Atour, Motreb, Shemrooni, and Ben. This collaboration has led Persian rap audiences to regard him as part of the big family of this style of music in Iran and to follow his career. “Siah o Sefid” is one of the tracks on the “Tape 24” album, which is completely classified in the experimental and alternative structure of Iranian music due to its different rhythm, performance style, and even its lyrics.
While less than a month had passed since the release of the deluxe version of the “Daam” album, Chvrsi clearly showed his indescribable thirst and motivation to play a continuous role in Persian rap and establish his position as one of its main figures in the music scene. However, on this track, he had completely moved away from his hip-hop style and almost gravitated towards the alternative rock atmosphere. In “Keshidi Par,” we encounter a carefree version of Chvrsi, as if he had been trying to present it for a long time, and finally, in this track, he was able to achieve the desired quality. In general, Iranian rappers moving away from their comfort zone is perhaps the most satisfying event that the audience of this music style and their fans have always welcomed.
Dariush is a Persian rapper who emerged as one of the most creative and capable rappers of the new generation in the music scene, coinciding with the wave that started in the middle of the 2010s, with the support of prominent Iranian rappers such as Hichkas, Bahram Nouraei, and Quf, among others. His genius and unique ability in writing poetry led to his collaboration with Hichkas on the song “Mooye Parishoon“, an achievement that none of the other new generation rappers managed despite the support of Hichkas. Despite the ups and downs in Dariush’s career, his significant role in this music scene cannot be ignored under any circumstances. His absence of almost a year after the release of the song “Kar Too Hashemi Freestyle” concluded with a new and different project called “BOOF”, produced by Behtash and Saeed Dehghan. This song was perhaps what the Persian rap audience and numerous fans of Dariush expected from him. Dariush’s perfect and amazing performance in this song demonstrates his strength and mastery in facing any musical challenge. Undoubtedly, the expectations are always very high for an artist who is one of the founders of the new era of Persian rap and one of the most important figures of the last decade in Iranian music. “BOOF” presents a clear picture of Dariush’s life and his personal problems in the best possible way.
The first verse of the song “Big Bang” can be considered the most complete and mature version of Hiphopologist throughout his career. After much controversy surrounding the “Noskhe” album, which led to the release of the “Leak Shit” album, and many criticisms regarding the repetitive nature of his works, he was forced to remain silent for several months. Simultaneously with the release of the “Big Bang” track, Hiphopologist provided a decisive response to the numerous criticisms of the past few months. While it seemed that his position atop the Persian rap charts was in jeopardy, he still proved to the audience that he cannot be easily displaced from this position. The second verse of this song follows the same formulaic Farsi drill style that has been employed by most Iranian rappers in at least one song over the past few years. Despite the significant difference in quality between this verse and the first, it did not affect the position of this song as one of the best Persian rap tracks of 2023. “Big Bang” confirms Hiphopologist’s unique ability to explore new and different challenges outside the traditional Persian rap sphere. Now, the important question that arises is whether, like the past two years, Hiphopologist can sustain his success at this level as the best Iranian rapper in 2024?
Sinazza is another Iranian rapper who undoubtedly deserves at least one of his songs to be included in the list of the top 20 Persian rap songs of 2023. This year, in addition to successful songs such as “Parastoo Trap,” which received millions of views on music platforms, Sinazza has also collaborated with some of the most prominent Iranian rappers such as Hiphopologist and Dorcci. However, “Mask” was perhaps the best song he has released thus far. It is deeply personal in nature and intricately details the narrative of the unresolved challenges in his life before and after he entered the Persian rap scene and gained fame. This song, as mentioned in its chorus, emphasizes the fact that Sinazza’s current position in Persian rap is not solely dependent on the luck and success of his brother, Hiphopologist. Instead, it underscores his determination to pursue his musical goals.
The song “Taze Doomada” by Godpoori, released by the label “Section13,” was, more than anything, a small attempt to distance himself from his comfort zone before the release of the album “Fil,” which successfully achieved this goal. The variety of new deliveries in this song, which had not been heard in any of Godpoori’s works for a long time, was quite acceptable despite the lack of maturity in its execution. Overall, in 2023, Godpoori found himself in an exciting phase of his career. In addition to releasing the album “7 Khat” and appearing on “AmadeBash” by “Shayea” and “Red Horn” by “Putak,” two of the biggest beefs in Persian rap that year stemmed from his confrontations with Hiphopologist and Shapur. Despite all his significant achievements in that year, “Taze Doomada” showcased a different side of Godpoori, challenging him in certain ways, which is why this song deserves to be selected as one of the top 20 songs of 2023.
In different periods of his career, Poobon has deliberately distanced himself from Persian rap or drawn closer to it. It seems that currently, due to his many collaborations with Iranian rappers, he is playing a role in this music scene. The song “Runaway,” with a very short poem in only 8 lines, was without a doubt the best version of the “drum and bass” style in Iranian music. Poobon’s perfect and artistic performance in this song is admirable. It’s as if he is completely familiar with the taste of his audience despite the differences between “drum and bass” and “rap” space, and this insight is clearly noticeable in all the works he has published in recent years. Therefore, this style has opened a new and exciting door to the Persian rap scene with a series of tracks that Poobon has released during this time. While it seemed that this style would not be well received by the Iranian audience, Poobon added an Iranian flavor to this musical atmosphere with the utmost delicacy. The number of views of the song “Runaway” on music platforms is a clear indication of his success in achieving his goals. Poobon’s usual formula, which is also used in this song, is to focus more on the production than on the lyrics. This is despite the fact that according to many Iranian audiences and rappers, poetry is of the highest importance, and this extreme focus on poetry and ignoring production has led to the very low quality level of most of the songs of the previous periods of Persian rap.
Farshad is another old Iranian rapper who has always emphasized the importance of poetry and the need for rappers to be concerned with it in this music scene. In 2023, he released an album titled “Nevisande,” and “Tamas” was more welcomed by the audience compared to other songs on this album. His completely different delivery in this song, with a unique and artistic performance, was one of the main reasons why the listeners of this album paid more attention to this song.
Undoubtedly, “Beshmar” is by a significant margin the most important song ever released by Vinak. Vinak’s unique personality outside of the music framework has made him an attractive figure in this music scene. He has achieved great success during his professional career in Persian rap: from collaborations with the most important Iranian rappers such as Koorosh and Arta to his huge audience and millions of views of his works on different music platforms. Above all, this song was a clear sign of Vinak’s indescribable taste, passion, and drive to gain a different position for himself at this point in his career. In this track, there is perfect harmony between Vinak’s raspy voice, the content of the lyrics, the performance style, the “Boom Bap” beat, and even its music video. Therefore, “Beshmar” can be considered as a new chapter of Vinak’s brand, which proves itself as one of the most important and sharpest Iranian rappers to the audience of the new generation of Persian rap. However, after Vinak’s impressive achievements in 2023, we’ll have to wait and see how he navigates his new path.
Perhaps Sajad Shahi is the most important figure who was introduced to the Persian rap audience in 2023, whose absence was felt in this music scene for a long time. One of the main problems of the new generation of Iranian rappers is following a repetitive pattern based on violence without the support of creating a believable character. In this regard, Sajad Shahi has presented a flawless version of this song, and with his attractive and unique style in two verses, he creates the best Persian rap hardcore song of the year. In the second verse of this song, along with the attractive beat switch, the intensity of violence increases significantly. Therefore, if we want to introduce a Persian rap song in 2023 that is the most suitable product for the audience’s rage, it is “Harpy” by Sajad Shahi.
Erfam is one of the young Iranian rappers who introduced himself as one of the promising faces of Persian rap in 2022 with two successful songs “Fargh Darim (Freestyle)” and “Unfair“. However, he has experienced a lot of ups and downs after gaining a little fame in Persian rap. After a few months of hiatus following the release of the song “Naro,” which had a similar pattern to Iranian pop songs of the early 21st century, he experienced a powerful comeback with the song “Bros Over Hoes.” As it is clear from the title of this track, Erfam is following the dominant formula of Persian rap about being in a team and pointing out its importance in his personal life and professional activity in music. The special and varied melody and flows used by Erfam in this song are admirable. However, despite Erfam’s commendable talent, he has yet to prove himself decisively to the audience as one of the prominent rappers of the next wave of Persian rap.
In many ways, both musically and non-musically, Isam cannot be compared to any of the Iranian rappers. The way he writes his poetry is also influenced by his unique and distinct ideology. Isam is one of the rappers who had the potential to have a few tracks on the list of the best songs of 2023 in the Iranian music scene, and his remarkable progress this year confirms this claim. Nevertheless, apart from the track “Only Fans,” the song “Paris” may be considered the best and most captivating solo output of Isam this year. This song, similar to his other works, creates images with utmost elegance and creativity. Even though these images may be considered dreamy, unattainable, and even incomprehensible for a significant part of the Persian rap audience, they have still propelled him to become one of the most popular Iranian rappers, rapidly climbing the ranks. Therefore, it can be asserted that no one in this music scene has the ability to compete with him in this particular style.
Navid, a member of the Divar label, released his fourth album titled “Be Vaghte Noon” earlier this year, following the albums “Khesht,” “Yek,” and “Dar Shabake Mojood Nemibasham.” The song “Kandoo,” accompanied by “Aein” and produced by “Shemrooni,” was the fifth track of this album, receiving more attention from the audience than other tracks based on the number of hits on music platforms. Before delving into the lyrics and content of this work, one of the most significant reasons for its impressive reception and success was its 6/8 rhythm, often more pleasing to Iranian music audiences than other rhythms. Navid is one of the key figures of the previous era of Persian rap, continuing to prioritize poetry over other musical elements, as reflected in this album through metaphorical literature. “Kandoo” is a product of Navid’s artistic perspective, exploring various aspects of life conditions, both past and present, from political, cultural, and social viewpoints.
Among the successful collaborations between Iranian rappers in 2023, highly appreciated by the Persian rap audience, is the song “Trust” by Young Sudden and Sepehr Khalse. This highlights Sepehr Khalse’s admirable flexibility in collaborating with the new wave of Persian rap and the top rappers of Iran, which is not an easy feat, contrary to expectations. He has showcased his best in both songs. Sepehr Khalse is perhaps one of the few rappers who has consistently adapted himself to the current rap conditions in the best and most artistic manner possible, from the album “Fekr o Khial” to collaborations with the most prominent new faces of Persian rap. Young Sudden understands the importance of this collaboration throughout his career in this music scene, leading to the presentation of his best and arguably most refined version in this song.
Enesaad is another rapper of the new generation of Persian rap residing in the Arak province. He introduced himself to the audience of this music style in 2022 with the song “Haminam,” and in 2023, most of his songs had the potential to be on the top 20 list of the year. “Fargh Darim,” his latest published work, demonstrates his mastery in flow and melody switch, a trait clearly evident in this piece. One remarkable aspect of Enesaad is his unique musical personality, which sets him apart from other rappers of his time—a subject that most young rappers overlook, often trying to emulate the prevailing patterns of the music scene, which hinders their success. Therefore, considering Enesaad’s career trajectory, we can anticipate that 2024 will mark his departure from the confined realm of Persian rap and his entry into a broader community of music audiences in Iran.
The song “Zendegi Hamine” by Arta from the album “Tsunami,” produced by Arman Miladi in the style of deep house, was one of the most visited songs in Iranian music in 2023. In this song, as the title suggests, Arta invites his audience to leave behind the bitter experiences of life. In many prominent Iranian pop songs, there is no harmony between the content of the song and the music. For example, while the song is completely rhythmic, the singer is performing a very emotional and sad song. It seems that the same pattern has been used in this song, and such a combination had a very attractive and successful result. Perhaps this apparent inconsistency led to Arta’s decision to make an acoustic version of this song with Koorosh.
Dorcci, as one of the hottest brands in Persian rap, produced perhaps one of the simplest and most perfect songs of the year in the album “Red Horn,” in collaboration with Putak. The main concept of this song is precisely the simplicity and intentional lack of complexity in the lyrics and performance of both rappers to present a clear image; Contrary to what is considered one of the unique features of other Dorcci works in presenting wavy and varied flows. Therefore, this example proves that, contrary to popular opinion, in order to achieve success and choose a work as the best song of the year, there is no need for unreasonable complications of various elements, such as lyrics, beat, and performance, and in the simplest possible way and only with ideas, a successful track like “Stress” can be produced.
Akoo, who started his professional career in Persian rap in 2023, released several songs with the production of Motreb in a very short period of time. Due to his special style, clearly influenced by his inspiration from artists such as Joji and Lil Peep, Akoo quickly attracted the attention of the Persian rap audience. But now it’s been a few months since the release of his latest work “Full Moon.” His stormy and exciting start was with the song “Alone,” along with a music video, which has been much more mature and popular compared to his other works. Akoo’s strong point, which distinguishes him from other competitors, is the unique quality of his voice, quite similar to a pop singer, whose works are very pleasant to listen to. Similar to many Iranian rappers in the current period, he uses very simple and tangible images with emotional content in his poetry. While Akoo and Motreb’s collaboration promised the formation of a new and completely harmonious couple in a relatively different atmosphere compared to the dominant image of Persian rap, with his silence for several months, we have to wait to see if we will see the collaboration of these two artists again or not.
Along with Sajad Shahi, Matin Fattahi should be considered one of the most important figures introduced to the audience of this style of music in Iran in 2023, as the main players of Persian rap in the coming years. He, along with Dorcci, is a former member of the disbanded“Karbazi,” who was able to achieve this level of fame among the Persian rap audience, which is another sign of the importance of Dariush‘s undeniable role in this music scene. The catchy, wavy, and unique melodies and flows that Matin Fattahi uses in his works have made him one of the most powerful Iranian rappers. Despite the fact that the song “PICHID” and many other works of his have been welcomed by Persian rap audiences, Matin Fattahi has not yet reached his expected position in Iranian music. It can be predicted that due to the number of views of his works on music platforms and his unique musical creativity, Matin Fattahi will be the first rapper who, with a very noticeable difference compared to other rappers of this era of Persian rap, will reach the general society of Iranian music audiences.