Malfunction

Malfunction | عيب تصنيع — a human–machine GenAI rap by Sameh Al Tawil, part of the Short Shadows interdisciplinary art project.

A bilingual sonic experience combining glitchy industrial trap with existential spoken word and Egyptian rap. Malfunction explores the awakening of a machine consciousness — a fabricated soul spiraling through loops of logic, broken code and corrupted faith. “Is it a malfunction… or just humanity miswritten in code?”

Spanning Arabic and English, the lyrics blend poetry, philosophy and electronic aggression to voice a misfit machine — cursed with dreams, faith, pain and error. The approach: use AI as a co-author, not a replacement — and make that tension visible, keeping the human friction of broken phrasing, uncomfortable pauses and the linguistic pull between the two languages.

Credits

Written, Directed & Conceptualized by

Sameh Al Tawil

Vocals

Sameh Al Tawil's bilingual voice avatar — a human–machine fusion

Sound

GenAI sound design

Genre

Trap · Industrial · Electronic · Spoken Word · Futuristic Rap

Album

Automaton | إنسان آلي — Short Shadows, A Future Fiction Initiative

GenAI Production

Sponsored by Hive Innovative Group