Double Entendre in Moroccan Rap: Breaking Down 5 Genius Bars
A double entendre is basically genius-level wordplay. It’s when a phrase has two different meanings, and both are totally on purpose. One meaning is the obvious, surface-level one that everyone gets. But the real flavor is in the second one, the subtle, slick meaning that’s underneath. It lets an artist speak on two levels at the same time, so the people who are really paying attention catch the clever, sneaky punchline. This whole technique is about being witty and smart, saying a lot without spelling it all out. That’s why it’s such a powerful move, showing up everywhere from old books to the slang we use today.
But where this technique really goes off is in the music. In rap and hip-hop, using double entendre is a required skill. It’s what separates real lyricists from the rest. Rappers use these layered bars to show off their skills and prove they got some of the sharpest pens out there. They often play with homophones, words that sound the same but have different meanings, to make it work. This focus on sound-alikes is what makes a double entendre hit with such a satisfying snap. Let’s check out 5 examples from some of Morocco’s best lyricists:
1. Rapper Loun in "LHANGAR Live Cypher" (2025)
- “I will never give up maghandirch finish, L’UK kanchoufha men chrijem dial l britich.”
(I will never give up, I won’t finish, I see the UK from the window of the ‘Britich’.)
On the surface, Loun is talking about his dedication and how everything, even the far-away UK, feels within his reach. The double meaning is in the word “britich.” Since he mentioned the UK, “britich” is a play on “British.” But in Moroccan slang, a “britich” is also a small room or hut. So he’s saying he sees the UK from the window of his small room, which is a clever way to say his ambitions are huge, even from where he started.
VIDEO: Lembawe9, Young Loun, NIC, Pakkun LHANGAR LIVE CYPHER 2025 | Prod by Em
2. Rapper Damost in "Activity" (2024)
- “Baby Makenmetelch 3lik rah 3ndi dat ass/dead ass 3aziz.”
(Baby, I’m not acting/faking with you, I have ‘Dat Ass Aziz’/I am being dead ass.)
The main meaning is him saying he’s really into her butt. But the phrase “dat ass Aziz” can also be heard as “Dadas Aziz,” who’s a famous Moroccan actor. This makes perfect sense because he just said, “I’m not acting with you.” He takes it even further in the next line by saying:
- “Fhad lblad wakha tkoun sekhfan ghadi nb9aw kanmejdo lik.”
(In this country, even if you are faint/wack, we will keep glorifying you.)
Here, the wordplay on “mejdo lik” (glorifying you) is that it’s a reference to the actress Majdouline (Majdouline Idrissi), who often stars alongside Dadas Aziz.
3. Rapper Deimi in "Kaporal" (2025)
- “wakha nban lik batterie faible, deck dl game kaml damso.”
(Even if I look like ‘low battery,’ I got the whole game deck shuffled.)
He’s saying that even when he seems low on energy “batterie faible”, he’s still in control of the entire game. The wordplay is with “damso,” which means “shuffled” in Moroccan, but it also sounds exactly like the name of the Belgian rapper, Damso. This becomes a next-level bar when you realize that Batterie Faible is the actual name of Damso’s debut album.
VIDEO: Fat Mizzo – Murray (Official Lyric Video) | Prod by 8ird
4. Rapper Fat Mizzo in "Murray" (2025)
- “Galia lmalak limen: ‘la tbe3ti tri9 l pills, maghadirch Porsche ghadir Audi.’”
(The angel on the right [shoulder] told me: if you follow the path of pills, you won’t get a Porsche, you’ll get an ‘Audi’.)
This is clever because it fits the car theme in the song, mentioning Porsche and Audi. But the real meaning is much darker. “Audi” sounds like “OD,” which stands for Overdose. So he’s saying if he gets into drugs, he won’t get a fancy car (Porsche), he’ll end up with an overdose.
5. Rapper Dizzy DROS in "Yasuke" (2025)
- “Yasuke b khinjar ya bani zna, lbdou rah li khaf mni nja.”
(Yasuke with a dagger, better bend a knee you sons of prostitutes, whoever was afraid of me escaped.)
The phrase “li khaf mni nja” (whoever was afraid of me escaped) cleverly hides the word “ninja” within it. What makes this so clean is the setup: Yasuke was a Samurai, and Samurais were the main rivals of Ninjas. Plus, the phrase before it, “ya bani zna,” hides the word “Yabani,” which is Moroccan for Japanese, tying the whole bar back to that culture.
VIDEO: Dizzy DROS – Yasuke (Tall Poppy Syndrome EP) | Prod by Teekay
Wrapping it up
Techniques like these make writing more fun for rappers because it pushes their skills. For us listening, it gets us to pay closer attention to the lyrics. It’s the perfect way for an artist to boast about being the best without sounding boring. They can tell complicated stories or throw some subtle shade, turning one simple line into something with multiple meanings.
It’s like that famous Jay-Z bar: “I don’t half-step on the ‘caine.” When he says “‘caine” (sounding like “cane”), he’s bragging about selling pure co’caine, while also giving a nod to the rapper Big Daddy Kane and his classic track “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’.”
