Hassan El Shafei

Hassan El Shafei is an Egyptian producer/songwriter/performer well known in the Middle East for critically acclaimed and chart-topping songs, as well as for being one of the original judges on the hit TV singing competition Arab Idol. Recording under the pseudonym the Saint in the ’90s, El Shafei found success in the electronica world with “My Ecstasy” in 2000. Working over the years as an award-winning producer and arranger on pop hits with the likes of Nancy Ajram, Angham, Amr Diab, Hossam Habib, Abdel Mejid Abdallah, and more, he founded the genre-blending Basement Records label in 2010. An industry notable, he soon found TV superstardom as a judge on multiple seasons of Arab Idol, which premiered in 2011. In 2014, he was asked to contribute to the international FIFA World Cup-minded album Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game, the only Arab representative on a collection with Timbaland, Santigold, Janelle Monáe, and others. That same year, he released the summer Internet dance hit “Mayestahlushi” under his own name, featuring Abla Fahita. ~ Marcy Donelson