Iliass Mansouri (Arabic: إلياس المنصوري, born 9 September 1998), better known by his stage name Dystinct (stylized in all caps), is a Belgian-Moroccan singer-songwriter and music producer. He is among the most-streamed artists in the MENA region as well as Europe.
Early life Iliass Mansouri was born on 9 September 1998, in Mortsel, in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, to a Moroccan family. He grew up in the Zurenborg neighborhood of Antwerp. In addition to Belgian nationality, he also holds Moroccan nationality. During his youth, he played football at Dageraadplaats near his neighborhood in Antwerp. Later, he followed in his father's footsteps, who was a singer, abandoning his passion for football and turning towards music production before beginning to sing at the age of 14. He started developing his art through English covers and then moved on to composing in Dutch, often mixing languages.
At 18, while his family moved to Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in the Étangs Noirs neighborhood, Dystinct relocated to Amsterdam, Netherlands, after signing his first contract with Avalon Music, where he began collaborating with various Dutch artists.
He took on several jobs, from call center advisor to accounting assistant. Dystinct negotiated with his mother for a gap year after obtaining his bachelor's degree, promising to fully commit to music for a year. If he didn't succeed, he pledged to return to his studies. With a contract from Avalon Music, Dystinct released his first Dutch-language songs, including the audio track "Panamera." He also released his first music videos, such as "No Ring Ring," and collaborated with Moroccan artist Ahmed Chawki on the track "Zina." Aiming to popularize his name in the Benelux and Maghreb region, Dystinct quickly engaged in international collaborations, notably in 2018 with French rapper Franglish for a track on his album titled "Que Pasa".
Career
First project: Mon Voyage (2018–2021) Influenced by pop culture and the Dutch "allochtoon" (immigrant) music scene, Mansouri chose the title Mon Voyage ("My Journey") for his debut studio album, aiming to tell the story of his musical path. As he explained in an interview with Belgian press:"It's about my journey, my path in music."The album featured collaborations with Dutch artists 3robi & Chivv, Moroccan artists Chawki & Inkonnu, French artist Souf, German artist Ardian Bujupi, and Belgian artist Tawsen. Released on 9 July 2021, the album broke records as the best-selling album in Morocco in 2021.
International breakthrough with Ghazali (2021–2022) In early 2021, Dystinct recorded Ghazali ("My Beauty" in English) with Belgian rapper Bryan Mg, produced by Dutch duo YAM & Unleaded (from Avalon Music). Initially hesitant to release it due to its departure from his usual style, he was convinced by his producers and manager. The song was filmed in Monaco with Bryan Mg.
Dystinct later reflected:"I had other songs scheduled, and Ghazali—where I sang in Moroccan Arabic with French rap—was different. I kept saying, ‘Not now!’ But they pushed me. I agreed to test it, and it dropped just before the 2022 World Cup. The rest is history. Lesson learned: don't be too stubborn!"The track became an anthem for Morocco's national football team, the Atlas Lions, during their historic 2022 World Cup run. Players celebrated victories by dancing to Ghazali, thanks to Dystinct's friend, footballer Abdelhamid Sabiri. Dystinct told Belgian media:"Seeing the Moroccan team embrace my song was insane. Ghazali's success was completely unexpected."Released on 3 June 2022, the music video broke streaming records in Belgium and across the Maghreb. The song blends Moroccan Arabic vocals (Dystinct) and French rap (Bryan Mg) over a pop-raï guitar melody, telling the story of a man enchanted by a woman's beauty.
In November 2022, Dystinct attended the World Cup in Qatar as a guest of Moroccan footballer Ilias Chair (a fellow Antwerp native).
Second project: Layali (2023) On 5 May 2023, Dystinct made his debut on Skyrock's Planète Rap, performing Ghazali and the exclusive Tek Tek—a preview of his sophomore album Layali (released 9 June 2023). The album's lead single, Tek Tek (feat. MHD), went viral on TikTok.
Layali is a multilingual and multicultural project uniting European and global sounds, featuring songs such as Ku Je Ti (26 May 2023), a collab with Swedish rapper Ricky Rich and Kosovar singer Dafina Zeqiri, featuring Albanian-Kosovar dance and global flags in the video and Business (2 June 2023) with French artist Naza. On 10 June 2023, Brussels mayor Philippe Close hosted Dystinct for an exclusive tribute at City Hall.
CAF Awards performance (2024) On 16 December 2024, Dystinct performed at the CAF Awards in Marrakech, singing Ghazali and Tek Tek at the sports gala.
Discography Albums Mon Voyage (2021) Layali (2023) Bababa World (2025)
Singles
As lead artist 2017: "Panamera" 2017: "No Ring Ring" 2017: "Zina" 2017: "Pablo" 2017: "Wat Je Wilt" 2018: "Que Pasa" 2018: "Vervloekt" 2019: "Chicha del Ghetto" 2019: "Ya La Laa" 2019: "Boussa" 2020: "Blessing" 2020: "Malika" 2020: "Awaa" 2021: "Habiba" 2021: "Alleen" 2021: "Nada Nada" 2021: "Ya Dellali" 2021: "Fini" 2022: "Niye" 2022: "Omri" 2023: "Ku Je Ti" 2023: "Business" 2024: "Wala 5, 7, 10" 2024: "Salam" 2024: "Spider" 2024: "Pas comme ça" 2024: "Mazal" 2024: "Dumlla Dumlla" 2025: "Boss" 2025: "Ya Baba" 2025: "RS6" 2025: "Selek" 2026: "TA3AL" 2025: "YAMA" 2026: "MANSORY" 2026: "HAJDE" 2026: "KATKOUTA"
As featured artist 2017: "Kabhi" by F1rstman and Dystinct 2018: "Daba Daba" by Oualid and Dystinct 2018: "Alé Vamos" by Chawki and Dystinct 2018: "Real Thing" by Quesswho and Dystinct 2019: "Mal a la tête" by Bryan Mg and Dystinct 2019: "Sensiz" by Emil Rosé and Dystinct 2019: "Passer passer" by DJ Hamida, Dystinct and CHK 2020: "Choqué" by GLK and Dystinct 2020: "Problematik" by TiiwTiiw and Dystinct 2020: "Latino Gang" by DJ Hamida and Dystinct 2020: "Fidèle" by Maestro and Dystinct 2021: "Oh Bébé" by DJ Sem and Dystinct 2021: "Real Love" by Architrackz and Dystinct 2021: "Dommage" by Driks and Dystinct 2021: "Démarre" by 3robi and Dystinct 2021: "Mehbooba" by F1rstman and Dystinct 2022: "Diamant" by DJ Sem and Dystinct 2022: "Bebegim" by Ali471 and Dystinct 2022: "" by Ice, Dystinct and 2023: "Alone" by Makar and Dystinct 2023: "Darba 9adiya" by Moha K and Dystinct 2023: "Ça c'est bien" by Franglish and Dystinct 2023: "Rashel" by Jungeli and Dystinct 2024: "Oh qu'elle est belle by Jul and Dystinct 2024: "Souvenir" by Heuss l'Enfoiré and Dystinct 2024: "Dayanamam" by Emil Rose and Dystinct 2024: "SI NO ERES TU" by Rvfv and Dystinct 2024: "MORE PRETTY GIRLS" by Frenna, Davido and Dystinct 2024: "Dumlla Dumlla" by Dafina Zeqiri and Dystinct' 2024: "Comment te remplacer" by Carbonne, Michaël Brun and Dystinct 2024: "LUJ" by Butrint Imeri and Dystinct 2025: "BOSS" by No Limit, Werenoi, DJ Milane and Dystinct 2025: "Immer" by Jazeek and Dystinct 2025: "Gili Gili" by Naza and Dystinct 2025: "YAMA BY NIGHT" by Hugel and Dystinct 2026: "GEL GEL GEL" by Lvbel C5 and Dystinct 2026: "Felous Baba" by Ahmed Saad, Orange and Dystinct 2026: "AYAYAY" by Sfera Ebbasta and Dystinct
Charted singles
As lead artist + List of charted singles as lead artist, with year, album and chart positions Title Year Peak chart position Album or EP FRA Peak chart positions for singles in Israel: "Yama": Peak chart positions for singles in Middle East and North Africa: "Ghazali": "Tek tek": "La": "Yama": Peak chart positions for singles in North Africa: "La": "Spider": "Yama": "Y dor": "Oh qu'elle est belle": Peak chart positions for singles in Saudi Arabia: "Yama": "Ghazali" 2022 — 121 rowspan="4" 12 rowspan="2" colspan="2" Layali "Tek tek"2023 34 12 19 "Business" 28 12 — — — "La" — — 9 2 — "Spider"2024 1 1 — — 1 — Le Nord se souvient"Yama"2025 — — 27 10 4 15 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory."*" denotes that the chart did not exist at that time.
As featured artist + List of charted singles as featured artist, with year, album and chart positions Title Year Peak chart position Album or EP FRA ""2023 — 126 5 ""2024 36 8 17 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. Tours
Layali: (2023–2024) Europe, North America (Canada) including AFAS Live Baba: (2025) North Africa (Morocco), Europe, North America (USA & Canada)
Awards 2023 : Winner Best Artist - North Africa of at the Trace Awards. 2023 : Nominated for Belgian Newcomer of the Year at the NRJ Music Awards. 2024 : Best Album at the FunX Music Awards for LAYALI
References
fa:دیستینکت