Post date: Sep 11, 2013 10:49:35 PM
Arabian Knightz
Genre : Hip Hop
Biography
Arabian Knightz is Egypt’s most prominent hip-hop group. AK formed in 2005, when founding members Karim Adel (Rush) and Hesham Abed (Sphinx) met outside a hip-hop party in Cairo. At the time, Rush had already been working with Ehab Adel (E-Money) on collaborative productions, and after a few short freestyle exchanges, the three rappers formed AK. The group's founders established Arab League Records in 2006, the first international Arab hip hop record label, which united Arab artists from all 22 Arabic-speaking countries, along with Iran and Armenia – with the goal of uniting the world through hip-hop by beginning in their own backyard, so to speak. In 2008, AK enlisted super-producer Fredwreck (who has produced for famed rappers such as Xzibit, The Game, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mobb Deep) to produce “Fokkak," which was an instant hit and projected them to the top ten of the singles charts. They received further commercial success after releasing the breakthrough single “Ya Allah,” arranged by the legendary Arab hip-hop producer Fahd. “Ya Allah” urges listeners to guard themselves against political groups that manipulate the use of religion for self-promotion and recruiting. The group has always adapted an authentic Arab perspective to the Western-dominated art, mixing English and Arabic raps with traditional story-telling methods that blend history, politics, religion and social commentary. This year, AK released their debut LP, “Uknighted State of Arabia," after multiple censorship delays. AK intended to release the album in 2008 but because of the rappers’ dangerously combative lyrics and sociopolitical commentary, the album had no chance of being released under the restraints of the Hosni Mubarak regime. During the 25 January revolution, AK released a single from their unreleased album titled “Prisoner,” featuring Palestinian singer and MC Shadia Mansour. The track was released in the form of a music video, featuring powerful video footage and images from the uprisings. The song in itself is a form of protest, which can be heard through the chant-like hook, “I want my country free from oppression, free from injustice, free from evil/I want my land and the land of the Arabs,” gaining instant attention from international media outlets including Al Jazeera, the BBC and the Washington Post. Even after the ouster of Mubarak, AK planned to release its album through international distribution and entertainment company Melody, but faced government-sanctioned censorship issues. The group deeded to self-release the group’s 16-track album under its newly created independent label. In front of a youth audience, “Uknighted State of Arabia” was officially released on 30 August at the Swiss Club in Cairo. The album features more than 30 contributing rappers from the region including Omar Offendum (Syrian-American), MC Amin (Egypt), Narcisyst (Iraqi-Canadian), Deeb (Egypt), H-Kayne (Morocco), DAM (Palestine), and female singers and MCs Malikah (Lebanon), Shadia Mansour (Palestine), Lana (Egypt) and others. The group has toured with Africa Xpress and has shared the stage or performed with artists including Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn, The Gorillaz and Led Zeppelin. They have been invited to host hip-hop workshops in Qatar and Europe including 19 cities in Denmark. Today, AK and its Arab League collaborators are poised to change the face of rap both regionally and beyond.
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