Nemahsis: The Palestinian artist shaping her own destiny through music

Nemahsis’ path to artistry has always been about breaking ground. Born Nemah Hasan, the Palestinian-Canadian singer has staked her claim in the music world with rare authenticity. She first made her seismic debut with her viral single ‘What If I Took It Off for You?’—a cutting critique of exploitation inspired by her own experiences. The song ignited a worldwide conversation among Muslim women about discrimination and their multivalent relationships with the hijab, cementing herself as an artist with a refusal to shy away from uncomfortable truths. Her 2022 debut EP, eleven achers, delved into themes of trauma, identity, and healing, with an intimacy that struck hot universally. 

But her rising trajectory came to a screeching halt in October of 2023, when her Palestinian identity led to her being dropped by a major label and branded ‘too controversial’. While she took a year to recalibrate, spend time with family, and process the ongoing genocide, Nemahsis returned undeterred in 2024, releasing her debut album Verbatim, laying bare her truth with healing vulnerability. Her comeback single ‘Stick of Gum’ was hailed as Spotify’s second-best song of 2024, just behind Kendrick Lamar’s ‘euphoria’. As she prepares for her 2025 tour, Dazed MENA speaks to the fiercely resilient artist about her journey, her challenges and the community that continues to sustain her. 

What inspired you to start doing what you do?

To be honest, when I searched for a role model or someone to look up to when I decided to pursue what I am doing now, I couldn’t find anyone that looked like me. I just decided that someone had to do it. It made me very intentional with the lyrics I was saying and I would take longer to write things because maybe I’ll never get this opportunity again

How has your journey been shaped by preconceived notions in the industry? 

NEMAHSIS: I look like people from the MENA region, but my music leans towards Western pop. When people hear Billie Eilish, they expect to see her. Nobody’s going to expect to see me when they hear my music. Under no circumstances are you going to expect to see [a hijabi artist], so I think it’s a shocker. I’ve only ever had that a few moments in my life, if ever, with other artists; but it’s still not as groundbreaking. 

How have things changed for you in your year away from music?

Before, even when we had a team and people to lean on, me and Chass, my manager, had taken on, I’m not joking, two to three extra roles each. But as of right now, Chass and I are probably doing seven to ten roles each. We don’t have any other choice, and you can really see that I’m still in fight or flight mode…I don’t get to branch out and try new people because I have to do a full background check on them to make sure they’re not profiting off of me and my cause now.

But your support has exploded tenfold in the last year. Everyone is so keen and excited about the work that you’re doing. Has that alleviated the stress in any way?

I always say this, I think the industry really loved me, and it was easy to get people to believe in my art. It was undeniable, whether it was like label execs or A&Rs or fellow producers, or other artists, I feel like the music spoke for itself and everyone had my back in the industry, but it took a while for the people to understand it and love it. And I feel like it’s the polar opposite now. I lost everything that I knew I had in October, and then I was really sad and mourning it, but then I started seeing the support of people I’d never seen before. 

And I redirected where I would lean for support to a different area. I was able to lean on the actual people to help me. Like okay, I don’t have a label to run ads or push my content out or help me with the verbage, so I could literally go on TikTok and say “what do you guys think about this?” or “should I do this?” I could just ask the consumer which one they prefer, and then I could do polls and stuff and go from there. And it feels embarrassing the first few times you do it because it looks like you don’t have your shit together, but when you actually lean into it, it feels like you have a team again.

What was it like to shoot your ‘Miss Construed’ music video in Palestine this year? 

Honestly it happened so fast. All I can say is that the trip was the best thing that happened to me. I’ve been there so many times, it’s home for me, but this trip specifically, I went there scared that it might be my last time. And that’s something that you don’t want to say out loud. I wasn’t working when I was there, I was mentally taking pictures with my mind; not even with my phone, I was trying to capture moments, trying to live in it, so that I could hold on to it forever just in case it was the last time.