Wafia

Wafia Al-Rikabi (August 4, 1993), or simply Wafia, is a Netherlands-born singer based in Brisbane, Australia. Born into an Iraqi-Syrian family, she began writing music while studying biomedicine at university. She jumped into the spotlight after posting a cover of Mario’s “Let Me Love You” on her personal streaming site, rapidly accumulating almost five million plays. The track garnered the attention of indie label Future Music, which added Wafia to their roster in 2015. That year, her debut EP XXIX generated a lot of buzz thanks to its lead single “Heartburn.” Produced by labelmate Ta-ku, the song found an early champion in Pharrell Williams, who played the track on his Beats 1 radio show. In 2016, Wafia released the single “Window Seat” with New Zealand producer Thomston and teamed up once again with Ta-ku for the EP (m)edian. Preceded by the singles “83 Days,” “Bodies,” and “Only Love,” a third EP titled VIII arrived in 2018. The single “I’m Good,” also released in 2018, placed 14th on Triple J’s Hottest 100 list. Subsequently, Wafia joined forces with Whethan and Louis the Child for the single “Hurts” and dropped the EP Good Things in 2020. Following several other single releases, including "In the Honey" in 2022, she released her debut full-length Promised Land via Nettwerk in January 2025.