‘KHADSHA CYPHER’
Executive producer Big Hass delivers another great showcase of Arabic hip-hop on this new cypher featuring five MCs from the
Levant and the GCC: JordanianPalestinian rappers Shouly and El Far3i, Edd Abbas from Lebanon, Maysa Daw from Palestine, and Blvxb from Saudi Arabia. Each of the rappers takes a verse of their own over a beat created by UAE-based producer Rayan.
“I wanted to do two things with this record: Bridge cultures between the Levant and the GCC, and showcase the lyricism of Arabic rap,” Hass tells Arab News. “Arabic rap is really booming right now and there’s a lot of vibe and melody to it, which is really beautiful — but I wanted to showcase another angle.
“The four guys recorded their verses first and I wanted to have a female voice, but I didn’t want to just tick a box, I wanted to showcase real talent and real lyricism. So I hit up Maysa and said, ‘Can you destroy this beat?’ And that’s exactly what she did,” he continues. “She rocked it.”
As well as bridging the GCC/ Levant divide, the MCs also straddle generations: Both Abbas and El Far3i are veterans of the Arab hip-hop scene, Daw has been part of hip-hop pioneers DAM for several years, while Shouly and Blvxb are relative newcomers.
“Blvxb is, in my opinion, one of the top artists in the Arab region right now,” Hass says of the latter. “I respect him as
a human, I respect him as an artist. He’s built a fanbase out of nothing. In terms of hip-hop, Saudi Arabia is so focused on the old-school; he came in with this new-school mentality. So I wanted to show that he can rock
with the best of them.” The track is being distributed by US-based company Empire — who work with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar — and feedback on the song and video so far has, Hass says, been “magnificent.”
“Two things I’ve noticed: One, that the young crowd are loving the fact that there are lyrics in Arabic rap. Number two: The rappers have gained (more followers) because of the hype around the record,” he says. “I’m very honored and proud.”