Qahwah Con Leche: Hip-Hop on a Coffee Break !

I am a big advocate of using samples that represents a culture, so when two cultures collide, its a beautiful day for me...

Qahwah Con Leche is the collaborative instrumental album by music producers Thanks Joey & El Bles. The album is an ode to their mutual love for coffee, culture, & vinyl where their two worlds collide using Middle Eastern & Latin influences. 

“Qahwah”, Arabic for “coffee” represents the two Producer’s roots in their respective cultures heard throughout the album in their choices of Latin & Middle Eastern samples. “Con Leche” or Spanish for “with milk” is the bridge between East meets West, where their influence of Hip-Hop Culture is evident and deep-rooted.

They just released the first single from that album entitled "Qahwah Con Leche" - Check it out on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS... 

More power to the brothers. Lovin this. Put this on and just drive or chill, whatever you end up doing, be sure you will be transformed to a place filled with positivity, creativity and culture..

Hip-Hop Artist OFFENDUM RELEASES Video for "FACES"

About a year ago, Syrian/American hip-hop artist Offendum released his EP entitled "EYE KNOW FACES"  . The delivery & the vibe for this EP was different to what we used to from Offendum & I loved that. I loved that he collaborated with Saudi Producer "Saud" . One of those songs is "FACES" & as he described it " The song is a lyrical reflection on perception / identity / othering, and ends with my reciting a poem by #KahlilGibran to that effect".

Watch the full video below

KSA Producer SAUD | Mixing Best Of Both Worlds!

I've been following this brother for a while now.. love the vibe and his production is on point not to mention that he's from my home country, Saudi Arabia! We did a quick Q&A with Saudi producer Saud who is living in LA. He also just dropped his project 013-310 ! Find more about it below!


1. Tell us about your background. You are Saudi living in LA? when did you move out there?

I moved to LA in 2011 to complete my college degree in Marketing while making music on the side. The city was full of international and diverse talents. I moved to LA with a passion to learn from the people that inspire me, fellow creatives and knowledgeable people in the industry knowing that LA would bring me closer to my goal of making noise with my music. 
Once you step into LA, a place where it doesn’t matter where you come from, what religion or what color, you are officially part of the culture and considered an Angeleno. If you are talented, you are talented; people will eventually acknowledge and appreciate. 

I have been inspired and moved by music ever since I could remember. I used to collect singles and albums from various parts of the world and would listen to them on my ‘sony walkman’. My family exposed me to good music at an early age; from my dad’s passion for oldies to my mom’s love for Middle Eastern music from all parts of the Arab world.


2. You remember your first production?

I’ve been making beats on different programs since about 2010 but never had the confidence to take that next step and turn my beats into songs. Then, fate happens when you least expect it. I randomly stepped into a Verizon store in Newport Beach, CA, and met this nice and humble dude from Detroit by the name of “PLUS” who worked there at the time. We spoke about music and he mentioned that he was an artist, but never had he mentioned how good of an artist he was. One thing lead to the other and we linked up about a week later and made ‘Feeling High” which was my first official single released on Soundcloud. 

3. I've always said, that there is a difference between a Producer & A Beat Maker. What's your take on that?

In my opinion, a Beat Maker makes and sells (or leases) beats, that’s pretty much it. His/her creativity will remain limited. A producer goes beyond that. I believe that a producer is someone who gets involved in the entire process from the beginning to the end whether creatively, technically or financially or all three combined; a process I like to call ‘the Producer’s Big 4’: Preparing, Polishing, Packaging and Pushing. 


4. Name few producers that have inspired you?
So many producers and musicians inspired me along the way. My team inspired me the most in giving me the confidence to create my own sound and stay away for the typical styles of production. They taught me that its always best to be myself. 
J-Dilla, Rick Rubin, Kanye, Madlib, 9th Wonder, Dre, Timbaland, NO ID, Apollo Brown and many more are all innovators in the industry that made hip-hop what it is today in my opinion.
From the region, I love what Sandhill represents. He is a genius when it comes to sampling old Arabic sounds and turning them into bangers. I have so much respect for Moe Faisal for pushing the limits; working with industry giants.

5. You have produced Eye Know Faces EP by Offendum. How did you guys get in touch? & tell us about the approach you took for that EP? (loved the samples you chose!)

Appreciate it man! I was first introduced to Omar through my cousin in Los Angeles. We bonded right away. An amazing soul. He was like an older brother to me in a city I was fairly new to. I wasn’t producing full on songs at that time. Mainly focused on school and making beats. A couple of years pass by, now I’m finally confident enough to send him a beat pack with different ideas I’ve been preparing for him. The next day, he sends me a reference track to “More Love” and I remember calling him super hyped and excited. He goes: “We got a full-on EP, man. I’ll send you more references tomorrow”. About a month later, we completed a fully polished project that I am honored to have that as my first ever project.
S/O Apollo Fortune for helping us mix and master this project.  

6. Do you have a favorite musical project that you've worked on?

Every project is my favorite project at the time of production. But I always look forward to what’s next. As I grow as a producer, I love coming back to my older projects and appreciate the growth. 

7. Who would you love to work with in the future?

Perhaps a Rick Rubin and Timbaland collab on a Jay-Z and Nas track featuring Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys! Boom! 

8. Did you ever had to change your production style to suit/accommodate an artist?

All the time. I try to cater to the style of the artist I’m working with. I believe doing so pushes me to learn more as a producer and explore vast styles of music making and production. The technicalities and patterns may be different but in the end the taste is the same and I still try to make my sound as distinctive as possible. 


9. You got any thoughts on the Middle East music scene? Anyone in particular you following?

I was introduced to the Arab hip-hop game around 2009. Narcy and Offendum’s “Last Arab’s” track was a turning point that got me curious to hear more.
Don’t sleep on our North African brothers. They are dominating the French trap movement. Soolking, Kekra, L’Artist, Hamza and many more are making NOISE!
I love what the boys in Dubai are doing; the HRMNY Brothers can definitely make a global impact. Fadl, ICEKREAM, Majeed, MohFlow, Omar Basaad and Hamdan Al Abri are artists I follow and look forward to what they drop next. Bu Kulthoum is also someone I follow. I love his creativity and approach. I am super optimistic and can’t wait for the whole world to see what our guys have to offer. 

10. Tell us about 013-310 ?

KHOBAR TO LA!!!! This album is the best depiction of my 7 years in Los Angeles. The artists and producers featured on this project have all pushed me to a new capacity and made me the producer that I am today. This album is the output of just having a good time and creating friendships that last a lifetime. I’m extremely humbled and thrilled by all the love and support. 






11. What's next for you?

To end this year on a high note, we got two projects lined up; Shiloh Meets World’s ARTLUKM and Mishon’s THC (Time Has Come) both debut albums for the artists. Super excited to share them with the world! 


12. Would you ever try singing/rapping?

Singing or rapping a reference track is as far as I would go to be honest. I love putting ideas together and creating references for artists to get inspired by. But I’ll keep the singing and rapping for the pros. 

13. Last words for re-volt blog 

I hope we, the people acknowledge how important it is for a growing industry in our region to have a person like Big Hass represent and push everyone to new limits and help legitimize independent music our region. To everyone from our part of the world: please use your platforms wisely and try to impact people in the most positive way through love and music.

Syrian/American Artist Omar Offendum weigh in on #Charlottesville Incident

Omar Offendum

I had to report this on my blog! Omar is a friend, he's an inspiration & most importantly he's someone who believes in the equality of all. 

He just posted this picture & caption that I urge you to read right now.. its very important. Just Read it

I'm a proud Syrian-American Muslim immigrant. My wife is a proud African-American Jew. We both grew up in Northern #Virginia & graduated from @uva in 2003. I met her while walking home from classes at The #Architecture school, which was situated adjacent to the Department of Drama she was attending. I came to find out her mother was a direct descendant of #Holocaust survivors, & her father was the first black Secretary of Education in #Virginia history. She learned that my dad's hometown of #Hama had been bombed mercilessly a month after I was born, & he did all he could to provide his family with a safe & secure environment to thrive in; thousands of miles away from the horrors of the #Assad regime, believing wholeheartedly in the "#AmericanDream" ... It's 2017 now & we are blessed to have a baby boy of our own. He represents all the hopes & aspirations of generational survival our beloved parents & ancestors embedded in our DNA, & thus the tragic events that took place in #Charlottesville have been effecting us in a deep & profound way. We stand in solidarity w/ those who reject the hate-fueled ignorance that was on display there, & offer our deepest condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken &/or shaken by the heinous act(s) of white supremacist violence that were committed. The terrorist who drove his car into a crowd of innocent people held a deep contempt for all that my family is proud of being - #Black, #Jewish, #Muslim, #Immigrant, Open-Minded, #Free-Thinking & #Syrian (he even went so far as to post pro-Assad propaganda on his Facebook page) ... Some might find solace in the notion that this doesn't truly represent #America or #Jeffersonian ideals ... For the record, #ThomasJefferson carried out a well-documented destruction of Black families & held a belief that "their griefs (were) transient", while arguing that Black people’s ability to “reason” was “much inferior” to whites’, and that “in imagination they (were) dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” Despite (t)his callousness, we are a proud(ly diverse) family & will raise our beautiful son w/ an even greater sense of #pride insha'Allah ... #Sinsyrianly ✍🏽 #OmarOffendum.

A post shared by Omar Offendum (@offendum) on Aug 15, 2017 at 8:33am PDT

Syrian/American Hip-Hop Artist "OFFENDUM" releases NEW EP "EYE KNOW FACES"

Eye Know Faces EP Artwork by Hagop Belian

I been supporting, listening to Omar Offendum since 2008! I must say I look up to the brother. His album "SyrianamericanA" is a classic. 
This EP is incredible and its personal to Omar as well, he's now a dad for a beautiful boy "Jibran".. The EP is inspired by Khalil Gibran, actually the poetry of Khalil Gibran has inspired Offendum throughout his career..

The EP can be streamed/downloaded below through his Soundcloud & Bandcamp accounts. 

EP is produced by Saüd from Brij Entertainment.

I also love the artwork which is done by Hagop Belian

Go support the brother and do your eardrums a favor !