Iraqi-Kiwi Dubai Based Rapper I-NZ drops his FIRST EP | Dollars & Dinars

Iraqi-Kiwi artist I-NZ whose real name is Majid, just dropped his first EP just a year following the release of his viral YouTube video ‘This Is Iraq’, a remake to ‘This Is America’ by Childish Gambino.

The EP titled ‘Dollars & Dinars’ is now available on ALL streaming services. As a Kiwi born in Scotland to Iraqi parents, the cultural diversity is evident throughout his music,

The 8 track project is reflective of I-NZ’s current headspace as he addresses aspects of his personal life alongside various social injustice and political subjects.

The EP carries a dark and mysterious theme throughout yet still offers head bobbing moments by way of quality productions from A’Y and Prince Q.

There are couple of tracks that I really like on the EP, I like "Geppetto" and "Ellah Billah". I think I-NZ style challenged the producers which results in something kind of unique. It will be interesting to see how the Dubai Hip-Hop fan base react to this EP especially that it has "Vibes" but also there are important lyrics/songwriting that addresses issues that people in Dubai/region might not care about or want to get away from.

I-NZ has since been creating music that aims to bridge his Eastern roots with his Western upbringing. He does that in his own way. I still want to see what he has for the future and can't wait to get to know that EP he just dropped a bit more. 

Give it a listen. Show Love. Show Support 

Full EP, hear it HERE

I-NZ

Mazzi & Tac : They Met Once in Dubai and BOOM, An EP is now LIVE!!

EP Artwork (Designed by Tac)

It's surreal to witness this project come to life. I've know the fam "Mazzi" since I launched the blog, way back in '07. We have always remained in contact and throughout my journey, he has ALWAYS showed love and support. Just last year, he was passing by the UAE and we connected and I was telling him about SOLE DXB and he got really intrigued and knowing him, he really fell in love with the idea of being in Dubai and witnessing this Cultural Hip-Hop festival. So, 3 months later, Mazzi made it to SOLE DXB as part of the Def Jam crew that was coming with Dani Leigh.

Last year, I was blessed to have a "Radio Booth" at Sole DXB, I called it "THE BEAT" and it featured 8 Rappers, but when I found out Mazzi was gona make it, I had to add him to the mix and watching all these rappers spit on various beats was a blessing
(Mazzi, Tac, P.Storm & Swerte (The Recipe), Jaysus Zain, Menon, Moh Flow, Freek and Malikah) 

Mazzi, Tac, P.Storm, Swerte, Jaysus Zain, Menon, Moh Flow, Big Hass
(Missing in the pic: Malikah and Freek)
Pic by Hitesh Dewasi

I found myself introducing Mazzi to the community and one of those artists was Tac and to see that they now have a project together makes me super happy. I asked Mazzi how did this whole project see light, this is what he said :- 

"..Stepping into the SOLE DXB cypher, I immediately sensed the immense talent around me! 
Dubai has an array of artists with unique styles! One person who stood out was a this kid Tac! He was young, lyrically gifted, & hungry! 
Soon after, I got a chance to build with him & saw that our styles would definitely compliment each other... That led to us mutually & organically deciding to record an EP on my next trip to Dubai! 
We completed it in two days, & spawned “S.O.U.L. Broke Forever”! 
Hope you guys enjoy it! Looking forward to further collaborations out there! YALLA!"

Tac 

I had to also ask Tac about that collabo and he had this to say: 
"no disrespect to anyone I ever worked with, but there's only a handful of rappers that give me a hard time on a record, and man... Mazzi?? He up there.." adding that when he met Mazzi in that Sole Dxb Cypher, the EP was born then.. 
a YEAR later its a reality and its LIVE!

The project is now ONLINE and you can hear it HERE


What's admirable and amazing is that ALL proceeds/profits from sales go to the Kenya Community Centre For Learning 
which is a special needs school in Nairobi and this is how Mazzi has been releasing every single project/album and it's amazing to see this collaboration with a Dubai-Based Artist. 

I want to thank both artists for collaborating, it is somehow a bridge, Tac is an Egyptian-UAE based rapper and Mazzi is American-Iranian based in NY. Its just beautiful..

I Love it. Show Love and Show Support.
Stream it, Download it. Push it.

Let's go TAZZI ;)

"We are Staying Put" , Sudanese Artist TooDope talks politics with his latest song

TooDope

I appreciate artists that use their platform to reflect a certain reality or truth towards a situation that is on-going in their homeland. 
One of those artists is TooDope whose latest single doesn't shy away from addressing a situation that happened in Sudan. 

With a beat that mixes Jazz and Sudanese sampling, TooDope's voice and Arabic lyrics hit home because they are very simple yet POWERFUL. He made an impact.

I asked him about the song and this is what he said " Sabbinaha is a Sudanese melodic revolutionary song I made in support of the Military Headquarters Sit-in that took place in April 6th until the the 3rd of June when the Janjaweed militias along with the support of government forces dispersed the sit-in in what can only be described as a massacre. I consider this song a landmark for me personally, because it highlights a switch up in genres going from hiphop & trap into Afro-fusion also it was the very first song I wrote that is fully in Arabic except for literary 1 line" 

Matkhalesh Hada Ayesh: The Synaptik crushing labels with his ‘not exotic enough’ approach

Artwork of the song by @sick.g

Nearly ONE year ago, Jordanian rapper "The Synaptik" released an album entitled "Om Al Mawjat". Album already considered a "classic" in Arabic rap. A movement that I am proud to support personally since 2007.

I been very vocal about supporting our youth, supporting the voices that actually portray a certain truth to what's actually happening on ground and just 4 days ago, The Synaptik dropped a song that i felt so emotionally attached to, a track that actually voices some of the things Im very passionate about. 

I went all nuts when I heard the track, loved every lyric, loved the beat and the whole message behind it. There's a movement of Arab rappers working really hard but it seems that their efforts are only viewed by a "niche" of people in Arabia but I believe this is about to change and the sound of truth and creativity will break through.

The song is called "Matkhalesh Hada Ayesh" which somehow translate to "Don't Keep anyone alive" and when I asked The Synaptik what did he want to address with this song, he gave me the below quote that I would like to share here on RE-VOLT : -

"... I wrote this song after the Palestine Music Expo, where there were foreign bookers looking for "exotic" Arab artists,  I felt like there was a huge margin of artists being ignored for not fitting the orientalist version of Arab music being pushed to the western audience, so I wrote this song as a statement that we as local artists that are not exotic enough for a western crowd, we have something to say, in fact we are the majority" The Synaptik told 
re-volt.

Very powerful indeed and something to think about. The song is on YouTube + all major streaming platforms. 
Track Produced by Bittar & Ameen

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Come Back from "Little Brother" with ‘May The Lord Watch" Album !

Little Brother are an American hip hop duo from Durham, North Carolina that consists of rappers Phonte and Big Pooh. 

DJ/Producer 9th Wonder was an original member of the group but departed in 2007. 

& Now, Phonte and Big Pooh have released their "May The Lord Watch" album, their first since 2010.

I been listening to the album since it dropped Aug 20th, 2019 !! and I keep saying every song is something. What a project. What a journey. Its beautiful to see what Phonte and Big Pooh would say about the album and the process. 

I just think its amazing they took that much time to put something out to the world that is 100% classic. I feel this should be somehow put in a "time capsule" so that future Hip-Hop generations would get a taste of how hip-hop should sound like.

You wouldn't believe that there was a 9 year break!!! 

Do you think this is what Hip-Hop needs right now?

What are your thoughts of the album and what's your favorite song?

Show Love, Show Support.