Fez — Moroccan artists Small X and Saib have landed on the official soundtrack of “EA SPORTS FC 27,” bringing their collaborative track “BLOOM” to a global gaming audience.
Electronic Arts unveiled the full soundtrack on September 10, confirming a lineup of 120 tracks representing artists from 36 countries. “BLOOM” appears alongside music from established international names including Little Simz, The Strokes, The Neighbourhood, The War on Drugs, Royal Blood, Nia Archives, and Chase & Status.
The game will enter Early Access on September 18 before its worldwide launch on September 25. EA has long positioned music as a central part of the football game experience, using each annual soundtrack to mix established stars with emerging and internationally diverse artists.
For Small X and Saib, the placement gives an already distinctly Moroccan collaboration another international platform.
“I never thought I’d one day be on FIFA, but here we are,” Saib told MWN Lifestyle.
From “NAFIDA” to “FC 27”
“BLOOM” originally appeared on Small X and Saib’s seven-track collaborative project “NAFIDA,” released on May 22, 2025 through Mass Appeal.
The 2-minute-41-second track sits alongside “NEBULA,” “BGHIT,” “ALBI,” “MRAYA,” “SHINE,” and “MRISSA” on the project.
“NAFIDA,” meaning “window” in Arabic, marked a noticeable shift in Small X’s sound. Rather than leaning entirely on the harder edges associated with his rap career, the project places his writing over Saib’s warmer combination of jazz, lo-fi hip-hop, guitar, and understated percussion.
The collaboration itself grew from a shared connection to hip-hop despite the pair approaching the genre from different directions.
Small X previously told MWN Lifestyle that he had listened to Saib’s music before realizing the producer was Moroccan. Saib, meanwhile, said the project gave him an opportunity to reconnect musically with Morocco after building much of his audience internationally.
Saib emerged from Casablanca’s music scene before developing an international following around jazz-infused hip-hop, bossa nova, and lo-fi production. Small X, originally from Safi, has spent more than a decade as a prominent figure in Moroccan hip-hop.
A collaboration that kept growing
The life of “NAFIDA” did not stop with its studio release.
In July, Small X and Saib brought the project to Jazzablanca alongside the AMG jazz collective, transforming its productions through live instrumentation, improvisation, and new arrangements at Anfa Park in Casablanca.
That progression now continues through “FC 27.”
Football game soundtracks have historically introduced players to music far beyond what they already listen to. With 120 tracks spanning 36 nations this year, EA is again treating the soundtrack as part of the franchise’s global identity rather than simply background music.
For Small X and Saib, “BLOOM” entering that mix carries particular weight. A project born from two Moroccan artists finding common musical ground is now set to play inside a football title reaching audiences around the world.
It is another step in the unusually long journey of “NAFIDA,” from a Moroccan creative collaboration to the Jazzablanca stage and now into the soundtrack of “EA SPORTS FC 27.”
