Ramadan is Coming by Illyas Mao (Video Review)
Review by Asif Balouch
Isn’t it funny how the month of Ramadan arrives when the world needs it most? With most people dealing with fatigue and stress from the pandemic and all the social distancing involved–which has been for over a year now–the blessed month has come and people are excited and filled with hope and joy.
This Ramadan buzz is encapsulated beautifully in this new song “Ramadan is Coming” by artist Illyas Mao. This tune is catchy, upbeat and positive and gets you in the perfect mood to be in for the month.
To borrow from some of the lyrics from the song: another review is coming, please tell me that you’re ready!
About the Artist
If you didn’t know about Illyas Mao before, then you have been missing out on an uber talented brother who has been blessed with not just a wonderful singing voice (that sounds like the Muslim version of Bruno Mars) but also an impressive talent of using his vocals to mimic the sound of instruments to make various melodies.
Ilyas Mao is a singer, composer, songwriter, and producer. When not making his own nasheeds, he is composing scores for films and documentaries, again, all using the sound of his voice. Illyas Mao has a great assortment of videos on his YouTube channel which feature collabs with the likes of Boona Muhammad, Omar Regan, and Muslim Belal. There are also various acapella covers where Illyas uses his voice to mimic popular melodies (like the Rocky theme, which is a must watch)
For Ramadan, Illyas dropped the lyric video for “Ramadan is Coming”. When Illyas is not in the studio doing his thing, he is venturing out into other avenues in entertainment, like acting. He can recently be seen in the movie “Super Hijabi” acting alongside Baba Ali and Boona Muhammad.
About The Video
“Ramadan is Coming” is a soulful tune that captures this excitement Muslims across the globe feel when the month of mercy arrives.
The catchy lyrics speak of the beauty of the month and how it gives Muslims a chance to make a new beginning. The beat is also a head nodding tune that may put you in disbelief that it is all acapella from Mao’s expert beatboxing, finger snapping and mouth instrument skills.
The hook of “Ramadan is coming, please tell me that you’re ready…I’m stoked and I’m excited, it’s so invigorating” is infectious and just puts butterflies in your stomach.
Since it’s just a lyric video, you can just follow along with the words to the song but it would have been nice to have a true music video that captures the fun, wonder and joy of the month. It’s not a big deal though as Illyas’ soothing vocals seem to be enough to keep you engaged.
Final Verdict
“Ramadan Is Coming” is a fun, inspirational track that accomplishes its mission of getting the listener in the Ramadan mood. If this is your introduction to Illyas Mao, you may become a lifelong fan as he has so many other great pieces of work.
Jam “Ramadan is Coming” and share it with your friends and family to get their Ramadan spirits up too!
Asif Balouch is a Houston, TX based writer with a passion for positive entertainment and media. Asif graduated in 2010 from the University of St. Thomas with a BA in Communications with a TV/Video Production focus and minored in creative writing.
