Single Review: Moez Masoud – “Here to Stay”

Here at Musoscribe, we endeavor to focus on music, and to keep our (well, my) political perspectives secondary, if not set aside completely. But that’s not always possible, as some topics are simply too serious to ignore or sidestep. One of those is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I’d like to think that wherever one might come down on the issue, the reality that civilians are starving, being driven from their homes (and homeland) and dying in large numbers is, y’know, a bad thing that should not happen.

Cairo-based Moez Masoud shares that perspective, and certainly does so from a closer-to-the-action vantage point than this writer-listener. His new single, “Here to Stay” addresses the issue and related ones around it. Subtlety is not his chosen approach here; as the accompanying video makes plain, he’s directly addressing a high profile individual, and to a degree the regime that aids and abets that individual in his military adventures.

Masoud’s melody seamlessly combines rock balladry with Eastern textures, and a judicious bit of vocal processing. But even with the song’s high-level production and arrangement values, there’s no mistaking the visceral message contained with the four-minute tune. Masoud is filled with outrage, and the newsreel images that make up the video underscores lyrics like “blood on your hands.”

A statement of defiance, “Here to Stay” delivers Masoud’s message that even when he and his relatives have left this world, the stain of the asymmetrical warfare led by the Prime Minster of a certain Middle Eastern country will endure. The tone is mostly angry, but a bit of clever video editing toward the song’s end does what it can to strike a hopeful note. “Here to Stay” is powerful stuff that will resonate and tug at the heartstrings of some while filling others with indignation. It’s for the listener to decide which side to take.