Casablanca – Moroccan artist Malika La Bendita released her debut EP, “Rompe El Ciclo,” on Friday, turning years of personal reflections into seven tracks about freedom, self-respect, and learning to live on her own terms.
The title, which means “Break the Cycle” in Spanish, sets the tone for a project that reaches beyond music. It tells the story of a woman who stepped away from a life that looked right on paper to pursue one that felt true to her.
The story behind the EP is inseparable from its artistic vision, with each shaping how La Bendita turns her personal experiences into music.
Where Arab and Latin sounds meet
Performed mainly in Spanish, with touches of Moroccan Darija and French, “Rompe El Ciclo” blends Latin pop with Arab-Andalusian influences, creating a sound that reflects La Bendita’s own cultural roots and musical inspirations.
“It all started with the first Latin artists who crossed over and reached Morocco back when I was a little girl: Shakira, Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee,” La Bendita told Lifestyle Magazine.
Growing up with these artists shaped her ear for Latin rhythms and helped her recognize a connection between Spanish and Arabic that went beyond shared vocabulary.
For her, the two languages also carry “the love of rhythm, the love of joy, the passion for gratitude.”
“It blew my mind. Those catchy urban Latin rhythms hooked me right away, and I felt an instant connection with the culture,” she said, explaining why bringing the two musical worlds together felt natural rather than forced.
That connection runs through the EP’s arrangements as much as its lyrics. The Spanish vocals, occasional Darija and French, and Arab-Andalusian influences come together without one sound overshadowing the other.
“I felt so much joy blending the bendir right into the reggaeton beat, or building a kanun melody that runs through a very Latin Pop song like a backbone from beginning to end,” she explained.
The result is a fusion woven into the songwriting itself, a sound La Bendita developed with co-producer Félix Dennery and musical director Julie Pallier.
“It’s a subtle mix, woven into the songwriting itself, and I’m really proud of it,” she added.
An EP shaped by a personal journey
Behind the music lies a decision that changed the direction of La Bendita’s life. Before pursuing singing, she spent a decade working as a strategy consultant in Paris, following a professional path that appeared secure but no longer reflected who she wanted to be.
For years, she says, she tried to meet expectations and remain within the boundaries of what society considered acceptable. Eventually, that life became impossible to sustain.
“‘Rompe El Ciclo’ is a literal scream from my heart and soul. It’s about breaking free from a whole life of fitting in, playing it safe and ticking every box, until you can’t breathe anymore,” she told Lifestyle Magazine.
For La Bendita, those expectations carry a particular weight for Moroccan women, who often face judgment over the choices they make.
She describes the pressure of living under the constant threat of “hchouma” (shame) and “chouha” (scandal), and the way that pressure can make it difficult to speak up or choose a different path.
Her own decision to leave the corporate world and pursue music in her thirties challenged the idea of what a Moroccan woman’s life should look like.
“To a lot of people, it looked crazy: a Moroccan woman leaving the ‘right’ path to start a music career in her thirties. Unmarried, and no kids. You can imagine the avalanche of judgment and verbal violence that came my way,” she said.
Yet the response from other women brought an unexpected dimension to her journey. Alongside the criticism, she received messages from Moroccans who saw something of themselves in her story.
“They’re finally giving themselves permission to choose what’s good for them, and to break their own cycles of fear,” she said.
That response has given the EP a meaning beyond her own experience. What began as a deeply personal decision has become a story other women can connect with, especially those who have struggled to put their own wishes ahead of society’s expectations.
From breaking free to finding joy
The songs on “Rompe El Ciclo” trace that journey through different emotional stages, from despair and difficult relationships to healing, faith, and the rediscovery of joy.
La Bendita had already spent years writing down her thoughts, feelings, and hopes before she decided to turn them into music. When she revisited those notes in 2024 and 2025, she found the foundations of an entire EP.
“Each song found its own world, sometimes melancholic, sometimes full of sunshine,” she explained. “In the end, the story has three chapters: the breaking, the healing, and the joy.”
One song, however, proved particularly difficult to record. La Bendita named “Ayuda” as the track closest to her heart, recalling how emotional the recording process became.
“I cried so much in the studio while recording it,” she said.
The song captures the struggle to break free from a life that feels wrong and find the strength to believe in something better. For La Bendita, that shift captures the moment when hope begins to emerge, even when someone feels they have nothing left to give.
Her own leap into music also shapes the message she wants to share with people who feel stuck in jobs or lives that drain them.
“¡Rompe el ciclo, mi gente! We only get one life. Feeling drained every single day is not normal. That feeling is your soul talking to you, so listen to it,” she said. “Plan your exit step by step, and let your faith be bigger than your fear.”
Making space for Moroccan women on the global stage
La Bendita also sees her music as part of a wider ambition to give Moroccan women more visibility in the international music scene.
She remembers looking for artists who could show her what was possible when she was growing up and dreaming of becoming a singer.
Shakira, with her Arab influences and international reach, came closest to offering that sense of representation. But La Bendita wishes she had seen more Moroccan women pursuing music on a global scale when she was younger.
By the time Moroccan artists such as Oum and Manal began to emerge, she says, she had already spent years trying to fit into a socially acceptable version of adulthood.
Now, she wants her own journey to help change that for the next generation.
“Moroccan women are still missing from the global music scene, and they’re so talented. I want to be one of the women who change that,” she told Lifestyle Magazine.
“And I won’t stop until I win that Grammy. I’ll bring it home, to show it’s possible for us too. Because why not? We’re superstars.”
With “Rompe El Ciclo,” La Bendita introduces listeners to a sound shaped by two musical worlds and a story rooted in her own life. More than a debut, the EP marks her decision to stop following a script written for her and start writing one of her own.
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