Desert Poets
Curated by: Karim Adel
What follows is a short list of Arabic rappers who are making good music and big noise in the Middle East and beyond.
ARABIAN KNIGHTZ
What’s your name?
Karim AKA A-Rush, Hossam el Hossainy AKA Ghetto Pharaoh, Ehab AKA E-Money, and Hesham AKA Sphinx. Together we are Arabian Knightz.
Where do you guys live?
Cairo, Egypt.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
They started off really not tolerating it. To them, rapping patterns are too fast. They’re used to love songs and singing. They also thought it was an attempt to copy a US form of music, which it kind of is. But the more they heard it, the more they discovered we do it different—our language is used differently and sounds more poetic in rhyme form.
Who are your favorite rappers?
Biggie, 2Pac, Jay-Z, Tech N9ne, Kool G Rap, Mos Def, Rakim, Wu-Tang, just to name a few. But these cats definitely inspire us.
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Yes, we do that a lot.
What projects are you working on right now?
We’re wrapping up the debut Arabian Knightz album. We got beats from Fredwreck and Wu-Tang’s 4th Disciple, as well as Arab composers like El Amrani (Morocco), Fahd (Egypt), and Jamil (Palestine). We’re also gonna start working on a mixtape and an album with a bigger group we formed called Arab League, which is Arabian Knightz, MC Amin, Shadia, Malikah, Qusai, Fredwreck, DAM, and others from all over Arabia. It’s hot up here!
www.myspace.com/arabianknightz
What’s your name?
Karim AKA A-Rush, Hossam el Hossainy AKA Ghetto Pharaoh, Ehab AKA E-Money, and Hesham AKA Sphinx. Together we are Arabian Knightz.
Where do you guys live?
Cairo, Egypt.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
They started off really not tolerating it. To them, rapping patterns are too fast. They’re used to love songs and singing. They also thought it was an attempt to copy a US form of music, which it kind of is. But the more they heard it, the more they discovered we do it different—our language is used differently and sounds more poetic in rhyme form.
Who are your favorite rappers?
Biggie, 2Pac, Jay-Z, Tech N9ne, Kool G Rap, Mos Def, Rakim, Wu-Tang, just to name a few. But these cats definitely inspire us.
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Yes, we do that a lot.
What projects are you working on right now?
We’re wrapping up the debut Arabian Knightz album. We got beats from Fredwreck and Wu-Tang’s 4th Disciple, as well as Arab composers like El Amrani (Morocco), Fahd (Egypt), and Jamil (Palestine). We’re also gonna start working on a mixtape and an album with a bigger group we formed called Arab League, which is Arabian Knightz, MC Amin, Shadia, Malikah, Qusai, Fredwreck, DAM, and others from all over Arabia. It’s hot up here!
www.myspace.com/arabianknightz
BIG PETE
What’s your name?
Big Pete AKA Big Beat.
Where were you born?
Los Angeles. First-generation Egyptian-American.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I always was a fan of hip-hop, ever since I was a lil’ shorty. Being from LA, on the scene, in the mix bodyguarding some of the game’s biggest artists, and being able to flip my favorite lyrics into Arabic. I found my talent freestylin’ in Arabic and my calling to be the hardest Arabic West Coast rapper!
What are your lyrics about?
Our life as first-generation Egyptians in a gang-banging, drug-dealin’ environment like killa Cali, and being America’s new niggas. It’s not easy being an Arab-American, and what we have to do to fit in and survive out here. We all ain’t doctors and lawyers and gas-station owners. Some of us are hustlers. You know what it is!
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Yeah, I love the older Arabic sound. It’s just so natural, and when you add a bass line…Uhh wee! You got a hit on your hands! Just ask Timbaland and Jay-Z about “Big Pimpin’.” I bet they don’t even know they got that from us.
What projects are you working on right now?
My album and more mixtapes, Freestyles of the Future Pharaoh, and I am getting my label off the ground: MAZAGMUSIC.
Find me on MySpace.
What’s your name?
Big Pete AKA Big Beat.
Where were you born?
Los Angeles. First-generation Egyptian-American.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I always was a fan of hip-hop, ever since I was a lil’ shorty. Being from LA, on the scene, in the mix bodyguarding some of the game’s biggest artists, and being able to flip my favorite lyrics into Arabic. I found my talent freestylin’ in Arabic and my calling to be the hardest Arabic West Coast rapper!
What are your lyrics about?
Our life as first-generation Egyptians in a gang-banging, drug-dealin’ environment like killa Cali, and being America’s new niggas. It’s not easy being an Arab-American, and what we have to do to fit in and survive out here. We all ain’t doctors and lawyers and gas-station owners. Some of us are hustlers. You know what it is!
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Yeah, I love the older Arabic sound. It’s just so natural, and when you add a bass line…Uhh wee! You got a hit on your hands! Just ask Timbaland and Jay-Z about “Big Pimpin’.” I bet they don’t even know they got that from us.
What projects are you working on right now?
My album and more mixtapes, Freestyles of the Future Pharaoh, and I am getting my label off the ground: MAZAGMUSIC.
Find me on MySpace.
DA SOLE
What’s your name?
Ihsan Cammoun AKA Da Sole.
Where do you live?
Tunisia.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I fell in love with hip-hop when I heard that classic verse from Heavy D on Michael Jackson’s “Jam”! I started to look for hip-hop tapes in every shop! I was fond of listening to 2Pac even though I didn’t know what the words meant, but I was nodding my head to the beats like crazy! I started writing my own lyrics in 1999 and I got to learn how to flow on other American MC’s beats ’til I met fellow rappers and break dancers from my city.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, Tariq from The Roots.
What are your lyrics about?
Reality! I write about whatever affects my mind positively and negatively, from hip-hop identity to politics, from egotripping to depicting my folks’ lives.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
Some love hip-hop! Most of them are young people with a lot of potential, but yet are neglected. But some others do not even consider it art, unfortunately!
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
Yep! I used samples from Majida Roumi, Julia Botros, Fairuz.
www.myspace.com/afrockband
What’s your name?
Ihsan Cammoun AKA Da Sole.
Where do you live?
Tunisia.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I fell in love with hip-hop when I heard that classic verse from Heavy D on Michael Jackson’s “Jam”! I started to look for hip-hop tapes in every shop! I was fond of listening to 2Pac even though I didn’t know what the words meant, but I was nodding my head to the beats like crazy! I started writing my own lyrics in 1999 and I got to learn how to flow on other American MC’s beats ’til I met fellow rappers and break dancers from my city.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, Tariq from The Roots.
What are your lyrics about?
Reality! I write about whatever affects my mind positively and negatively, from hip-hop identity to politics, from egotripping to depicting my folks’ lives.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
Some love hip-hop! Most of them are young people with a lot of potential, but yet are neglected. But some others do not even consider it art, unfortunately!
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
Yep! I used samples from Majida Roumi, Julia Botros, Fairuz.
www.myspace.com/afrockband
ESLAM JAWAAD
What’s your name?
Eslam Jawaad.
Where were you born?
Damascus, Syria.
Where do you live now?
London, UK.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I used to call NWA’s manager, Jerry Heller, on the phone when I was 13. I was a big fan of NWA and was always trying to get to talk to Easy or Cube. He asked me if I rapped, so I said “Yes” and started to freestyle on the phone. He told me to keep it up, so I did. Seems bizarre, right? It’s not, really. Straight Outta Compton CD cover. It’s in there. Back then he used to answer the phone at the office.
What are your lyrics about?
There’s definitely a political edge to a lot of it, a social and spiritual edge as well. A lot of it is just stories I’ve lived through.
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
I used to, but now it’s the other way around. I work with full Arab orchestras and producers and then take it to a hip-hop producer to mess with the bass and drums a bit, but the base of the music is Arabic right now.
What are you working on now?
My Arabic album, a full Arab-language body of work. It will feature contemporary names in the Arab music world and will be produced by Jean Marie Riachi, one of the top cats right now.
www.myspace.com/eslamjawaad
What’s your name?
Eslam Jawaad.
Where were you born?
Damascus, Syria.
Where do you live now?
London, UK.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I used to call NWA’s manager, Jerry Heller, on the phone when I was 13. I was a big fan of NWA and was always trying to get to talk to Easy or Cube. He asked me if I rapped, so I said “Yes” and started to freestyle on the phone. He told me to keep it up, so I did. Seems bizarre, right? It’s not, really. Straight Outta Compton CD cover. It’s in there. Back then he used to answer the phone at the office.
What are your lyrics about?
There’s definitely a political edge to a lot of it, a social and spiritual edge as well. A lot of it is just stories I’ve lived through.
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
I used to, but now it’s the other way around. I work with full Arab orchestras and producers and then take it to a hip-hop producer to mess with the bass and drums a bit, but the base of the music is Arabic right now.
What are you working on now?
My Arabic album, a full Arab-language body of work. It will feature contemporary names in the Arab music world and will be produced by Jean Marie Riachi, one of the top cats right now.
www.myspace.com/eslamjawaad
MC AMIN
What’s your name?
Ahmad Amin AKA MC Amin AKA the General.
Where do you live?
Mansoura City, Egypt.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I started when I heard Western music and I felt that it was still touching me. I started memorizing some of the rap lyrics I heard and reciting them while I was amongst my friends till I decided to try doing it myself in my mother tongue.
Who is your favorite rapper?
2Pac.
What are your lyrics about?
I represent my city, and I represent the Egyptian mentality in everything that happens in our reality here with the common, average Egyptian people specifically, or generally with the Arab community.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
At first no one really felt it or related to it or understood what it was. But the more Arabic rap songs they heard, the more they started to understand, and the whole scene here started growing. A lot of people are starting to attempt to rap at home as well. It’s very common now amongst teens in Egypt—not just as fans and listeners.
Do you like traditional Arabic music?
Of course I like it, especially old-school Arabic music from the ’70s and ’80s, because they used more traditional Arabic instruments than they do now.
www.myspace.com/mcaminmusic
What’s your name?
Ahmad Amin AKA MC Amin AKA the General.
Where do you live?
Mansoura City, Egypt.
How did you get into hip-hop?
I started when I heard Western music and I felt that it was still touching me. I started memorizing some of the rap lyrics I heard and reciting them while I was amongst my friends till I decided to try doing it myself in my mother tongue.
Who is your favorite rapper?
2Pac.
What are your lyrics about?
I represent my city, and I represent the Egyptian mentality in everything that happens in our reality here with the common, average Egyptian people specifically, or generally with the Arab community.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
At first no one really felt it or related to it or understood what it was. But the more Arabic rap songs they heard, the more they started to understand, and the whole scene here started growing. A lot of people are starting to attempt to rap at home as well. It’s very common now amongst teens in Egypt—not just as fans and listeners.
Do you like traditional Arabic music?
Of course I like it, especially old-school Arabic music from the ’70s and ’80s, because they used more traditional Arabic instruments than they do now.
www.myspace.com/mcaminmusic
NARCYSIST
What’s your name?
Yassin. My artist name is the Narcicyst AKA Jamal Abdul AKA Illuminarcy.
Where were you born?
I was born in the Emirate of Dubai.
Where do you live now?
I currently reside on the island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
How did you get into hip-hop?
It started by looping the ending of instrumentals to make them long enough to rap to. Then we started recording that stuff. It naturally progressed into the studio and songs. Then albums. And the rest is going to be history one day.
Who is your favorite rapper?
Mos Def meets Black Thought meets Nas.
What are your lyrics about?
Life. Arabs. Moments. Love. Hate. Relationships. Politics. People. People and their politics. Injustice. Experience. Hip-hop.
Do you like traditional Arabic music? Who do you listen to?
Um Kulthum, Fairuz, Mohd Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, Muthaffar Al-Nawab. Everyone!
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
Of course. In our early days, when I was in a crew called Euphrates, I would want to rhyme over everyone’s catalog. We’ve flipped beats out of every famous Arab artist already!
Arabs in handcuffs stand up.
www.iraqisthebomb.com
What’s your name?
Yassin. My artist name is the Narcicyst AKA Jamal Abdul AKA Illuminarcy.
Where were you born?
I was born in the Emirate of Dubai.
Where do you live now?
I currently reside on the island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
How did you get into hip-hop?
It started by looping the ending of instrumentals to make them long enough to rap to. Then we started recording that stuff. It naturally progressed into the studio and songs. Then albums. And the rest is going to be history one day.
Who is your favorite rapper?
Mos Def meets Black Thought meets Nas.
What are your lyrics about?
Life. Arabs. Moments. Love. Hate. Relationships. Politics. People. People and their politics. Injustice. Experience. Hip-hop.
Do you like traditional Arabic music? Who do you listen to?
Um Kulthum, Fairuz, Mohd Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, Muthaffar Al-Nawab. Everyone!
Do you sample traditional Arabic music?
Of course. In our early days, when I was in a crew called Euphrates, I would want to rhyme over everyone’s catalog. We’ve flipped beats out of every famous Arab artist already!
Arabs in handcuffs stand up.
www.iraqisthebomb.com
SHADIA MANSOUR
What’s your name?
Shadia Mansour.
Where do you live?
In a world of injustice, oppression, and hunger.
How did you get into hip-hop?
Joined forces with one of the first Arabic hip-hop groups, Arap, through a fellow Syrian/Lebanese brother and artist, Eslam Jawaad.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
I have a few favorites—KRS One, Rakim, and Lauryn Hill are among them.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
It has been a long and winding road in trying to change the mentality and misconception people have about hip-hop in general, thanks to certain major record labels who played a big role in painting a deluded picture of what hip-hop really represents. However, hip-hop in Palestine (in my eyes) was a rebirth of freedom, expression, and resistance. It is accepted as the most powerful and effective tool in getting the message across to the masses—to the places in the world that lack the correct knowledge of the history of our people.
What are your lyrics about?
Humanity.
What’s your name?
Shadia Mansour.
Where do you live?
In a world of injustice, oppression, and hunger.
How did you get into hip-hop?
Joined forces with one of the first Arabic hip-hop groups, Arap, through a fellow Syrian/Lebanese brother and artist, Eslam Jawaad.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
I have a few favorites—KRS One, Rakim, and Lauryn Hill are among them.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
It has been a long and winding road in trying to change the mentality and misconception people have about hip-hop in general, thanks to certain major record labels who played a big role in painting a deluded picture of what hip-hop really represents. However, hip-hop in Palestine (in my eyes) was a rebirth of freedom, expression, and resistance. It is accepted as the most powerful and effective tool in getting the message across to the masses—to the places in the world that lack the correct knowledge of the history of our people.
What are your lyrics about?
Humanity.
Do you like traditional Arabic music? Who do you listen to?
Asmahan, Farid el Atrash, Fairuz, Adbel Halim Hafez, and many others.
www.shadiamansour.com
DON BIGG
What’s your name?
Taoufik Hazeb AKA Don Bigg.
Where do you live?
Casablanca City, Morocco.
How did you get into hip-hop?
As a fan, then as an amateur, and now as a professional rap artist.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
The one who does his job correctly and sells a lot.
What are your lyrics about?
Politics, street, rap game, ego trip, bling, poverty, everything I am about.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
Let’s say it has become the most recognized movement in Morocco.
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Nope.
Do you like traditional Arabic music?
Not that much.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m working on my second album which I’m gonna record in LA, shooting videos, working on a national radio hip-hop show as a host, and a clothing collection.
www.myspace.com/donbigg
What’s your name?
Taoufik Hazeb AKA Don Bigg.
Where do you live?
Casablanca City, Morocco.
How did you get into hip-hop?
As a fan, then as an amateur, and now as a professional rap artist.
Who’s your favorite rapper?
The one who does his job correctly and sells a lot.
What are your lyrics about?
Politics, street, rap game, ego trip, bling, poverty, everything I am about.
How do people in your country feel about hip-hop?
Let’s say it has become the most recognized movement in Morocco.
Do you sample or rap over traditional Arabic music?
Nope.
Do you like traditional Arabic music?
Not that much.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m working on my second album which I’m gonna record in LA, shooting videos, working on a national radio hip-hop show as a host, and a clothing collection.
www.myspace.com/donbigg
Posted on 12.17.09 by FrankGreen
FrankGreen
01.23.10 - 2:38PMClaire, that butler is Benjamin Franklin!
You can find select back-chapters for sale in the online store.
Claire Varney
01.22.10 - 9:08PMI have a copy of Frank 20 the Rock Edition which I picked up in NYs Morrison Hotel Gallery - ex CBGBs its a great little book which reminds me of my time in NY and want to come back. A sweet piece of memorabilia. Thank-you for so much good info in such a nice wrapper - I want to pass my copy on... are there any left? I am checking out the others online to find out more... is there a green issue? I like the butler too...
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