Nikotine Beirut | Lebanese-Canadian Musical Artist

Photo by mollie pie

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NIKOTINE BEIRUT (نيكوتين بيروت) is a Lebanese-Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and cabaret artist pioneering a "Queerabia" renaissance.

Nikotine Beirut is known for her original music, powerful live vocals, Arabic-language covers, and the theatrical cabaret musical show The Dancing Djinn, which she co-created with Lebanese drag bellydancer Samara to celebrate third-gender Arab history. 'Cabaret: The Dancing Djinn' has soldout multiple times across Montreal and Toronto, receiving glowing reviews and consistent standing ovations.

THE MUSIC

In 2026, NIKOTINE BEIRUT debuted in Europe with a 2-hour 'album sneakpeak' concert to a soldout crowd at The Wrong Side in Paris, following a series of successful cabaret shows and solo concerts in Canada.

Her improvised song, 'Samara, My Soul' from her acclaimed show, Cabaret: The Dancing Djinn, went viral on social media, hitting over a million views combined. The clip garnered attention from mainstream audiences enthralled by Nikotine's musicality, embracing her highly unusual presentation and voice regardless of their backgrounds.

THE ALBUM

NIKOTINE BEIRUT is set to release her debut album in 2027, containing 13 tracks spanning multiple genres (cabaret jazz, Arabesque flamenco, nu-disco, glam rock, soft rock, synth pop, r&b) and languages (Arabic, English, Spanish).

The album was recorded in Toronto, Montreal, Beirut, Cairo and Paris with a number of acclaimed and highly talented producers, musicians and mixers.

THE MUKHANNATH IDENTITY

NIKOTINE BEIRUT is the first to openly reclaim the term 'Mukhannath' in over 1,000 years - a term which came to be a homophobic slur meaning 'effeminate' - but no longer. 'Mukhannath' originally referred to the highly-respected third-gender effeminate musicians and poets of medieval Arabia and Andalusia who were beloved by the people and the courts: The Mukhannathun (المخنثون).

NIKOTINE BEIRUT is not a drag queen. She is a mukhannath singer and poet, whose identity traces back to an Arabian queer lineage: the original Mukhannathun, including Tuways, after whom she has named her record label.

Nikotine believes in the revival of Queer Arab history, or as she coins it, a 'Queerabian Renaissance'. Queerabia refers to the long-forgotten imaginary land of the Mukhannathun, around which her cabaret show, The Dancing Djinn revolves.

Welcome to the world of NIKOTINE BEIRUT.