Q&A with Dubai Based Egyptian Rapper Tac !

TAC

Big Hass: First off, how long you been in Dubai and how did you get into Hip-Hop?
Tac: I've been in Dubai for more or less the last 20 years. The story of how I got into Hip-Hop is a very long one, but to make it short and sweet, on December 12, 2012 I wrote and recorded my first song under the supervision of my mentors over Skype. And the biggest battery in my back was that 20 year rap veterans were telling me I could become the best rapper in the world after hearing that first song. And ever since then its been my goal. 

BH: Tell us about the name, TAC?
Tac:The name is hilarious to me till this day because of how it came about; I was 13 and extremely angsty. I called myself
The Anti Christ because I thought I was cool and tough. 
One day one of my friends called out to me saying "Hey Tac!", And I got super confused and asked him what the hell a 'Tac' was. He said, and I quote "N*gga, I ain't about to call you The Anti Christ every time I wanna talk to you." And ever since then, the name stuck. It no longer stands for The Anti Christ. It's just Tac now. Also a big pet peeve is when people spell is in all caps like TAC. It's actually just Tac. But I understand why people make the assumption that it stands for something so I don't mind. 

BH: As an Egyptian Rapper, did it ever cross your mind to rap in Arabic?
Tac: Never in my life will I ever rap in Arabic. I can barely even speak it, let alone come up with rhymes that don't sound like 3 year old nursery rhymes. 

BH: Tell us about your collaboration with MENON, The Recipe on the remix track of "Regula", how did that come about?
Tac: That collabo was amazing. And it came to me at just the right time. Bless Menon for that, really. I had just landed in Dubai after battling some issues in Egypt and not being able to leave the country. And my inspiration was completely gone. He called me literally the day I landed and told me about the track, and I was like "YES, PLEASE YES!" It really put me back onto my grind. Especially because a song with Menon was long overdue, and to make it even better The Recipe are on it, Frankly I lost my sh*t. I can say with confidence that that song has the best rappers in the middle east region on one FIRE track. 


BH: Who are some of the rappers that you listen to internationally/locally?
Tac : Oh man. HASS will know this because of his Madvillainy shirt but I am a HUGE fan of MF DOOM. I listen to Kendrick, Milo, Death Grips, Jay-Z etc.. I have a very awkward taste in music. 
As for local artists, The Recipe, Menon, KC Hamada, JustNishan, Coat of Arms, Shebani, Abri, Laura Lopez and honestly there are so much more that I appreciate, but those are the ones I listen to the most. 

MF DOOM 

BH: When you dropping your next single?
Tac : My next single will be dropping sometime in mid-late November. I have a very special feature on there, that I am very excited for people to hear. 

BH: Tac, what scares you? "if anything"?
Tac: I don't fear ANYTHING on this planet. The only thing that scares me is losing my voice. It's the only thing I can count on. Anything that would stop me from being able to rap and make music will completely destroy me. 


BH: Any Last words..
Tac: I am not in this for a short time. Or a good time. I will spend at least 30 years on the throne when I pop.

Follow Tac
Instagram 

THE BEAT DXB Vol ii // ANNOUNCED // 9 NOV'18

THE BEAT is a series of events curated by Saudi radio host and blogger Big Hass, all in the aim to support local and regional rising music artists by creating opportunities for them to perform live. 

What started as an underground event in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) in 2013 has now been marked by the DXB stamp, as Big Hass tries to nourish the independent music scene through this kind of live events. 

It comes as no surprise that the first edition of the Beat DXB saw the light in March 2018, in The Flipside, the only vinyl store in the UAE, which resonates with Big Hass’ constant endorsement for the real and authentic. His passion and determination has helped bring back this event for a ​second edition​​, in ​The Fridge Warehouse​​, one of Dubai’s most thriving art hubs. 

The main lineup will include rising female sensations Syrian singer/songwriter ​Ghaliaa​​, Iraqi RnB/Pop singer/songwriter ​Shébani​​ and Emirati-Honduran chilling voice of ​Fafa​​. The balance is scored by the performance of Saudi rapper ​Molham​​ and Sudanese visionary and lyricist ​249TooDope​​. 

Also a special segment will be dedicated to rappers (Moh Flow, KC Hamada, TAC & KAFV) showcasing their skills over beats provided by Drummer ​Colin​​ LIVE. 

Furthermore, Saudi female singer Roya, who was part of the first edition of the BEAT in Jeddah will be the opening act. 

The event will occur on ​Friday, November 9th 2018 
Event is sponsored by G-Shock Middle-East 

Doors will open at 7:00 PM and the show will start at 8:00 PM. 

** Music set by Dj Sizer 
Tickets are available online and the door at 20 AED/Person

BROTHER ALI RETURNS WITH A NEW SINGLE & VIDEO "SENSITIVE" & OH MY .....

Brother Ali 

"I love rappers with the big voices..

They put the power in their lyrics so you live for it 

And spit it boisterous, the ignorant can't ignore it 

I put the preacher's style in my delivery 

And I remember vividly somebody tweeted Chuck D 

And asked him who the best voices are, and he mentioned me"

"But since you got respect and an obvious connection 

And every time you bless us with the tiniest little speck 

Of an online mention, our fans all shower you with affection 

And just blow up your comment section 

Well, what the hell, I mean I ain't complaining 

But, how come you don't place us in the hip-hop conversation? They just look back with blank faces"

Latest track from one of the people I look up to, someone who inspires me daily, the one & only Brother Ali ... Brother Ali doesn't waste anytime here proving once again he's one of the biggest forces in Hip-Hop !! Listen to EVERY WORD ... 

Q&A with Amy Roko

Amy Roko (Photo by AMS/Direction by Ali Cha'aban)

I had the pleasure to connect/interview Saudi Personality Amy Roko! She's incredibly funny and I truly am a huge fan. Go check out her instagram page and show her some love.


BIG HASS:  Can you give us a story on how you got into comedy?

AMY ROKO: I still have no idea how, to me I consider it luck. I was watching all the viners going crazy on vine and I just wanted to post something out there that was related to me and how I feel (yes I was part of the relatable af hashtag don’t judge I was a kid) and people saw it on vine and posted it on twitter and here we are. 


BH: You have great influence. DO you feel pressured that you have to always do the right thing? & give the right message?

AR: Honestly I try as much as I can to do the right thing you know, even though I believe that everyone has the right to post whatever they want, it still scares me sometimes because I don’t want to offend anyone or send the wrong message. Like personally that scares me a lot. I don’t want to feel that burden of hurting someone and not knowing about it. 


BH: Who is your inspiration when it comes to Comedy?

AR: Whoa the list does not end, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah are on the top of my list. 


BH: Where did you get your English Accent from?

AR: Oh my accent, well from school, I went to a school with a British curriculum (this is why I pronounce a lot of words the British way) then changed to an American one. Also my dad. 


BH: Tell us about how fame changed your life?

AR: It was an eye opener, now mind you I had no idea how the media/social media life is so this made me more aware of this whole new world. 


BH: There aren't many Saudi female comedians. I know there are lots of restrictions but you're somehow a voice for them. If they are listening/reading this now. What do you tell them?

AR: BRUH this is going to suck (giving out advice is not my forte) but mute the voices and do what you love, being judged is the worst thing in the world especially when people think their opinions matter, mute them out and do you. You’ll be amazed by yourself. 


BH: What has been the best feedback/comment you received? (something that Impacted you) 

AR: This kid sent me a DM on Instagram saying, “I go back and watch all your videos when I’m sad and they make me feel better so thank you.” I don’t think I’ve even heard someone say something this nice to me ever.

Amy Roko (Photo by AMS/Direction by Ali Cha'aban)

BH: I am sure you get "hate mail" & messages that might discourage you. How do you find the motivation to keep going? (what keeps you going)


AR: I remember I was really sensitive about hate messages especially the fact that I didn’t understand why would they attack me when they don’t even know me? I realized though, haters have nothing else to do and they need that attention, ignore and you win. 


BH: Do you think the fact that you are veiled comes out as an obstacle to what you do or does it trigger curiosity?  


AR: I still don’t fully understand how people think it’s an obstacle because it doesn’t stand in my way you know what I mean? I don’t see it that way, in fact I’ve done the most craziest stuff wearing it (wow tmi much). I mean I’m not not wearing it to trigger curiosity or anything because I’m not wearing it for you (not you personally), I’m wearing it for me so as far as how people feel I have no idea.


BH: You are a fan of hip hop, who are your fav international and Arabic rappers.?

I don’t have favorites but recently I’ve been listening to Logic, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye a lot. Arabic rappers wow. I cannot wait for this generation of rappers I have high hopes to be honest I need a fire playlist. That Slow mo and Moayad is a BOP. I listen to Flipperachi as well. Yes a short list but we need more rappers. Preferably women.


BH: Tell re-volt something not a lot of people know about you

AR: As I got into the social media world, I tried to distance myself from it, the main reason why is because I felt like I was sharing to much and I don’t want that, I like to keep my private life private and social media just makes me feel like my house is made out of glass and everyone could see right through. That or I watched a lot of Black mirror. Basically that’s why I’m absent most of the time, because I feel like I’ve already shared too much. 

NARCY X MASHROU' LEILA VIDEO | All Middle-Eastern Flair

Narcy X Mashrou Leila (Video Footage) 

The long awaited video for "TIME" by Narcy featuring Mashrou Leila is FINALLY OUT !!

I had the pleasure to host Narcy while he was in Dubai 3-4 months ago and had a "private" listenings session for his upcoming album "SPACE TIME" and it was incredible to hear his thoughts on every song and how he came up with it. 
This is him talking about "TIME" that is produced by Sandhill X Mashrou Leila 

** Full talk will be out once the album is out!

View this post on Instagram

Earlier in the summer, I played my new album for a small audience and went through the meaning of #SpaceTime w/ @big_hass . Here is how #TIME came together. Hit the link in my bio to hear the song, follow Hass and my cousin with the wavy hair @ibstab. Thank you for your #SpaceTime #TheBeat #Narcy

A post shared by NARCY (@narcynarce) on Sep 20, 2018 at 6:36am PDT

Watch the full video below and support the brothers! 

Canadian/Palestinian Rapper BELLY Releases NEW ALBUM "IMMIGRANT"

Love Belly. I love the song "immigrant"...

The follow up to last year’s Mumble Rap contains 11 tracks in total and features guest appearances from Meek Mill, The Weeknd, French Montana, Nav, MIA, Yo Gotti, Metro Boomin, & more. 

Meanwhile production is handled by the likes of DaHeala, DJ Mustard, NAV, Rex Kudo, Austin Powerz & TRAKGIRL, among others.

This is what he said about the album “With everything going on, I can’t sit by and say nothing. I decided to speak my truths. my album is now called, IMMIGRANT,”