Omar Kabbani
Mohammad
and nostalgia serves a very different purpose. Their era of choice is the 1980’s, when they were children growing up in West Beirut and their medium is the street.
Identical twins born in 1983, the Kabbanis are better known as the Lebanese rap duo behind graffiti/ street style outfit, Ashekman and they first began to tag the streets in 2004 as a way of promoting their concerts and their name.
Since then, Ashekman’s graffiti has evolved into street art. Murals they have created decorate walls, underpasses and buildings across the city. The brothers may have gone legitimate but Mohammad admits that from time to time, he and Omar still like to sneak out at 4am and tag a few walls “just to blow off steam”. For
Two things set Ashekman apart. First is their repeated use of 80’s Japanese cartoon icon, Grendizer, which has a following all across the region. Second is their use of Arabic rather than Latin letters in a free-flowing style that the brothers refer to as ‘calligraffiti’.
Actually, let's make that three things. Ashekman may have begun as a musical outfit but it has evolved into an umbrella organisation that encompasses Arabic Rap, street art and an eponymous line of Hiphop/ Calligrafitti inspired clothing.
“I always say that I was born with a microphone in my hand and Mohammad was born with a spray can,” Omar tells me before adding that these days, the brothers see themselves very much as entrepreneurs. “If we’d started this in NY or London, it would have been easier but we want to show that even in our region, it’s possible to succeed, despite the barriers. We’re self-made and self-paid.”
While Ashekman’s calligraffiti t-shirts, hoodies and hats can sometimes get you thrown off planes by jumpy airline staff, their contemporised takes on classical fonts like Kufi and Naskh, which they learned by studying with calligraphist Ali Assi, are