The long Eid weekend saw much of Cairo take to the road and head north to Sahel for the official start of summer in Egypt. While for many that meant clubbing is back in session, one of the highlight events of the weekend along the North Coast took place in Marassi, where France-based Algerian singer, Souad Massi, took to the stage for her latest gig in Egypt.

Fueled by a slight crush on her and the fact that he was in Sahel at the time, Cairo Gossip’s Mahmoud Hussein sat down with Massi to talk about her sixth and latest album, her ambitions as a female musician in the Middle East and the drama that led her to split ways with her French record label.

-There are only a few hours left before your latest gig in Egypt – what keeps you coming back?

This concert is probably my fourth and I always come because of my fans in Egypt. I love the country and the people and I’m proud to have a fan-base here. It’s always an honour to perform to the quality audiences in Egypt –people who genuinely love my work.

-Your new album, El Mutakallimun, means ‘masters of the word’ – how far do you believe in the power of the word?

Absolutely – especially when I think of the novelists, authors and poets who have changed the world with their words.

For example, when it comes to poetry, Ahmed Matar is a perfect example. He’s an Iraqi poet who used to write political poetry – and for that, they feared him. They were afraid of his influence and how he could change the minds of many people. That just shows how affective the written word can be – in every age, in every society.