DAVID SHABANI

Alternative hip-hop with the sounds of Texas soul and R&B

In an area where the music culture is expansive and rapidly accelerating, Shabani’s sound keeps pace by blending compellingly personal lyrics with high-energy backbeats that combine to work double time. The result dually satisfies the late night thrill seeker with club pounding rhythms, and the idle listener with lyrics that flow in a story-like format.

Influenced by Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, and Kaytranada, Shabani identifies with the outsiders of hip-hop. His catalog includes collaborations with Texas rapper and producer Kydd Jones, Grammy-winner Bobby Sessions (Megan Thee Stallion), Cody Acosta (Miguel, Ty Dolla $ign, Hit-Boy, Normani), and Grammy-winner Malik Baptiste (Snoh Aalegra).

His sound has taken over stages at home and abroad alongside The Lox, Ashanti, Blxst, Asher Roth, Shwayze, D Smoke, and others with his band, The Nu Leopards, a tribute to his Congolese roots.

“[Shabani] dives headfirst, unflinchingly, into deeply personal narratives that connect and resonate on a universal level, elevating his voice through an intertwined texture of R&B, hip-hop/alt. hip-hop and pulsating electronica.”

— NPR / KUTX

“Shabani creates life-focused hip-hop, courageous and steadfast. Topics such as social injustice, immigration, and travel flood the Paris-born artists’ lyrics over club-like rhythms, forging an empire both relatable and worth listening to.”

— Austin Monthly

“Charismatic and captivating, with addictive cadences that evoke Kid Cudi and Theophilus London, Shabani has refined a sound and aesthetic that appeals to the mainstream without bending backwards to it.”

— The Deli