Fairuz Sampled on Kanye Album

Kanye West’s latest release, Bully, has drawn renewed attention to the enduring global influence of Lebanese musical icon Fairuz, whose voice is sampled on the project’s standout track, All the Love. The long-anticipated 12th studio album, released last Friday after multiple delays, features the interpolation of Fairuz’s 1963 classic Fayek Alaya, reimagined within a distorted, gospel-leaning production.

The track was crafted in collaboration with producer and talkbox pioneer Andre Troutman, blending vintage Middle Eastern melodies with West’s signature experimental hip-hop soundscape. Music publication Billboard described All the Love as the album’s “crown jewel”, praising West’s continued ability to stretch the boundaries of rap production more than two decades into his career.

Originally composed by Assi Rahbani and Mansour Rahbani, Fayek Alaya forms part of the celebrated musical El Leil We El Kandeel (The Night and the Lantern). The song reflects themes of nostalgia and childhood memory, with its Arabic title loosely translating as “you are awake over me”. The broader work is emblematic of the Rahbani brothers’ influential collaborations with Fairuz, which helped define modern Arabic musical theatre.

Born Nouhad Haddad in Beirut in 1935, Fairuz is widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures in the Arab world. Her voice has long been associated with collective memory, national identity and emotional continuity across generations. Over the decades, her music has transcended regional boundaries, becoming a recurring source of inspiration and sampling in global popular music.

Notable uses of Fairuz’s music in modern recordings

Fairuz’s influence in contemporary music spans decades and genres, from pop to rap. Macklemore recently opened his 2024 pro-Palestinian track Hind’s Hall with a melody derived from her work Ana La Habibi, while Drake incorporated Wahdon, a composition by poet Talal Haidar, into his 2025 album Iceman. Earlier, Madonna’s use of Fairuz’s El Yom Ollika in her 1992 album Erotica led to a legal dispute that was ultimately resolved out of court.

Meanwhile, the release of Bully itself follows a turbulent production cycle. First announced in September 2024, the project was repeatedly postponed, with West sharing work-in-progress versions and accompanying visuals via social media platform X. The rollout also coincided with heightened public scrutiny following his widely reported apology for antisemitic remarks earlier this year, issued through a full-page newspaper advertisement.

Despite controversy, All the Love underscores Fairuz’s continuing cultural resonance, demonstrating how her repertoire remains a fertile source of reinterpretation for contemporary global artists.