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| Holywar (Black Bannerz) & Vinnie Paz (2018) |
I have known the brothers from Syrian-Saudi based Hip-Hop group "Black Bannerz" for quite sometime, ever since I launched this blog in '08 !! I do still think that they were able to do incredible things but they still need to be more active and release more things & inshalla that will happen. They have released the Arabic side of the Double Album they have "Thawra Musiqia - The Album" in 2014 & they have features with the likes of Vinnie Paz, R.A The Rugged man, Immortal Technique, Sean Price (RIP), Chino XL, Crooked I, Reef The Lost Cauze, Nino Bless, Planet Asia, Scram Jones,Beyond Belief, Kool G Rap,King Magnetic !!!
Black Bannerz are specialized in "Classical Arabic" Rap which for me we need more of.. Now, the reason I made this blogpost is to salute them & to salute Holywar from Black Bannerz, he just did a European Tour with Vinnie Paz & the JMT crew!!!...
To have a Syrian who is based in Saudi Arabia tour with those guys & be on the same stage & rep Arabic Rap that way is a huge honor and this needs to be pushed way more, I hope this blogpost has a ripple-effect and more blogs/media get to talk about it.. I had a quick Q&A with him & this is how it went down
BIG HASS: This is your second time touring with vinnie. How did the relation with him start?
Holywar (Black Bannerz) : Matter of fact, this is the third time that I have had the privilege and the honor to accompany my brother Vinnie Paz on tour. Relation started about a decade ago through social media and while working on materials for Black Bannerz, but it was in 2015, during The Thief & The Fallen Tour, in Paris,where we have met and got to build with my brother Vinnie on many levels and continued that tour with him and the rest of Jedi Mind Tricks, followed by the 2017 Buried Alive tour with him, and DJ 7L & Esoteric (AOTP/Czarface) and lately, the recently done, 2018 The Bridge & The Abyss Tour.
BH: how was it touring Europe with artists you have idolized for a long time?
BB: For someone who grew up in this part of the world (Saudi) , with a great deal of passion for the art of hip-hop, and where the scene and the activities revolving around the art were minimal, it is almost unreal and hard to believe to build, tour and share stages with one’s favorite artists. It is as overwhelming as someone who’s passionate about film directing working with his favorite director, or a actor acting side by side with his favorite actor. It is a blessing...
BH: When you rapping, you doing it in Arabic. What is the reaction from the western crowd like?
BB: The reaction of the crowd was always amazing from the moment Vinnie would introduce me as “I gotta a friend coming all the way from Saudi Arabia” wether I rap in English or Arabic. And in the latest tour, talking to some of the attendees, they did recognize Black Bannerz’s work such as The Muhammad Ali Audiomentary project, or our collaboration with Vinnie on First Blood which I have performed on stage during this tour, and even our Arabic Debut album (by Europeans from Arabic origins). It was overwhelming, and inspiring to push to create and release more material at the soonest.
