Iliass Mansouri (Arabic: إلياس المنصوري), known professionally as DYSTINCT, is a Belgian-Moroccan singer, songwriter, and music producer.
Biography
Iliass Mansouri, known professionally as Dystinct, was born on September 9, 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 Bornem. 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 fourteen. He started developing his art through English covers and then moved on to composing in Dutch, often mixing languages.
At eighteen, 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. Iliass 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 Chawki on the track "Zina." Aiming to popularize his name in the Benelux and Maghreb regions, Dystinct quickly engaged in international collaborations, notably in 2018 with French rapper Franglish for a track on his album titled "Que Pasa".
