Nihal El Aasar: The NTS radio resident dismantling borders

Nihal El Aasar embodies all the best qualities this generation has to offer: cognisance of what’s wrong with the world, the nerve to constantly speak out about it, and a crazy eclectic taste in music. As a DJ, writer, and activist, she’s as comfortable behind the decks as she is dissecting the Gordian knots of geopolitics. While today’s thick, oversaturated media fog cloaks issues with patronising ambiguity, Nihal’s takes cut fiercely clean. 

“I think being born in our part of the world forces you to be political,” the Egyptian writer explains to Dazed MENA. “Even if you are not, politics comes to you. You have to really go out of your way to be apolitical.” Raised in Cairo with a voracious appetite for words in any form—books, magazines, newspapers in English and Arabic—Nihal didn’t intend to be a writer; she just found, after all that consumption, she had a lot to say. 

Having gone to university during a pivotal time in Egypt’s history, her written work has garnered attention for its clear and incisive critiques of political narrative. In her article for Africa’s a Country (later also published in Jacobin Magazine and The Elephant Info), Everyday Resistance is Not an Alternative to Politics, she argues that collective action must transcend individualistic narratives to effectively address broader systemic issues. Nihal posits that the issues of Egyptian democracy and Palestinian liberation are deeply entrenched, emphasising that one liberation cannot be fully realised without the other. Her insights challenge convention, urging a deeper examination into the systemic structures at play in the region.

In addition to unpacking political issues with such focus in her writing, Nihal also captures the pervasive themes that young people grapple with, particularly in the SWANA region. In September, Nihal published Left-Wing Melancholia for Parapraxis Magazine. The article explores the pervasive sense of disillusionment and paralysis in leftist circles, particularly following the failures of various progressive movements. She articulates how this melancholia is rooted in the historical cycles of hope and disappointment that characterise the left’s struggle. Despite the urgently needed action here, this melancholic state often leads to introspection and despair, undermining the potential for impactful change. Nihal advocates for a reawakening of leftist optimism and solidarity, emphasising the importance of collective actions in confronting contemporary social justice issues.

“I want to make Arabs in the region and in the diaspora feel that they have ownership over their political subjecthood, their culture, and their history, and to develop a familiarity and connection with other people from the region who are doing interesting things and form linkages between them,” Nihal tells Dazed MENA. 

Her work has seated her on the table of prominent voices advocating for a nuanced understanding of Palestinian resistance. Toward the end of 2023, she contributed a piece to the anthology From the River to the Sea: Essays for a Free Palestine, along with the likes of Mohammed El-Kurd, Noura Erakat, Rashid Khalidi, and many more icons of activism. These works, taken together, arm their reader with crucial grounding for the urgent discussions taking place across the movement, spanning histories, interviews, personal testimonies, and analyses of the indelible relationships between the countries involved. Nihal’s writings assert that the fight for Palestine is not a singular concept but part of an ongoing saga of anti-colonial resistance that demands global solidarity and understanding. 

“This might sound weird, but I’m fueled by anger or annoyance,” she candidly notes. “I have to feel like I am responding to something that is upsetting me or that I feel I want to correct, and that pushes me [to the point where] it is almost an obligation to have an intervention about it.” She explains that she takes this same, interventive approach in music. “I don’t think I’ve really featured a track that I don’t really like or find interesting or that doesn’t serve a certain purpose in a certain context on my show.”

Nihal spins records with the same precision she brings to her writing. Her radio show, “Nile to Bank w/Nihal,” showcases a dynamic mix of contemporary left-field hip-hop, drill, and traditional Arabic sounds, eliminating borders just as consistently in her decks. Somehow, her DJ platform also makes space for addressing all that she does in her writing, inviting iconic guests like Mohammed El Kurd to spin rap music as they chat. The radio show has hosted a wide range of up-and-coming talent: Siga, El Kontessa, Jeneen, Otteswed, Firas Shehadeh, and Julmud, to name a few. Her show brings all her philosophies to life with tracks that resonate with each facet of her identity and the activism they entail.

“I really hope to see a lot of intentional collaborations and interlinkages across borders especially as a response to our current political climate,” Nihal shares. “There’s a lot of exciting things coming out of the region culturally in a moment where a lot of tragedy is being inflicted on people at the same time. It would be great to see more practices of solidarity and to reject the forced apoliticisation of our work.”

The Egyptian self-labelled “Counter-propagandist” exemplifies a generation that refuses to let geopolitics drift into obscurity amid daily life. Rather than compartmentalising her passions, Nihal reflects the current culture by combining her roles as DJ, activist, and researcher, demonstrating that one can engage with social issues while pursuing personal interests. This holistic approach symbolises a broader philosophy among young people today, who recognise that activism doesn’t exist in a vacuum.