TIF & ElGrandeToto Unite on a Timeless Trap Confessional 'Kafini'

TIF and ElGrandeToto, two of the region’s rap giants, link up on a joint single titled ‘Kafini’, a reflective diary-entry-like tune delving into their rocky ascent to the pinnacle of Arab hip-hop.

Built on a minimalist and cloudy trap beat, imbued with woozy synths floating over crisp 808s, the track doubles as a reflection on the scars and the contradictions of the life the two rappers have lived and the one they are still building. There is no hook in the traditional sense of the production; rather, the refrain -"Gros c’est pas si mauvais / La vie d’artiste en fait” (The life of artists might not be so bad after all.) -hits with weight, delivered with equal parts irony and truth, as TIF and Toto navigate the thin line between their come-up stories and the temptation toxicity of fame. 

Algeria-born TIF sets the tone with poetic introspection, rapping about hunger being his only compass when money was nowhere in sight. His delivery, though calm, is sharp and assertive, wrapping years of sacrifice and grind and silence into deliberate bars, like “J’suis toujours le meme mais en plus fort” (“still the same, only stronger now.”).

ElGrandeToto follows with a more detached tone, spitting verses in a blend of Darija and French that flex his survival in the scene like a badge of honour and flicks off fake friendships and industry expectations. At one point, he nonchalantly throws in a verse, “Machi nta li tgoulina ch’han dirou,” (You’re not the one who’ll tell us what to do), with a quiet rage in his voice that feels like someone who’s already paid the price for his success.

Both TIF and Toto have been steadily dropping collaborative tracks with artists across the North African hip-hop scene, so it was only a matter of time before they linked up in the studio. And while Kafini might have already set the bar for collabs this year, their joint effort isn’t about theatrics or trying to impress. Instead, it reflects each artist’s truth and back stories without falling into the black hole of cliché.