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..

SUDANESE PRODUCER SAMMANY GIVES SUDAN REVOLUTION A MELODY ...

Sudanese Producer SAMMANY once again proves that music combined with true talk from the heart results in something people would share & resonate with. Sudan is going through a revolutionary times at the moment with corruption and the politics being "challenged" which is a good thing I believe.. Music once again proves its more powerful, the government should obey the people always...

Q&A with Palestinian/Canadian Producer/Singer/Songwriter ROSEGOLD

Canadian/Palestinian Producer/Singer Rosegold

When I first found out about Palestinian-Canadian producer Rosegold, I was extremely happy to see a female music producer from the region. I then discovered that she also has a great voice which for me is also incredible and its a no-brainer not to feature talent like that on Re-Volt. I believe it is a duty on any person who has a voice to reflect & support these kind of talents. I wish her the best and I am sure she will be able to make a huge impact in the music scene in Arabia. 

Below is a Q/A with Rosegold whose based in Doha,Qatar.
Also check out her latest track featuring MVRS (interview with him is out soon)



Big Hass: How did you get into music production? 

Rosegold: This is gonna sound cliche, but I really think it was just a sweet twist of fate! I was a media and film student at a university in Canada, and one of the courses offered was an introduction into music production and sound design. 
Being me, I always loved to know how things were made, be it movie magic (the reason I got into film), or a beautiful musical composition. And I revelled in the satisfaction of knowing that I could make that kind of magic happen, like I was in on some secret not many know about. So I took the course. And it definitely changed my life. Since then I've listened to music differently. Music was no longer just a beat and some vocals; it became layers of sounds that I could hear and feel. Every song became a chemical compound I was trying to deconstruct. I started asking myself "what sounds combined on a 4/4 beat would make one wholesome frequency that changes or compliments a mood I was feeling?" "How do I make these sounds materialize?" "How do I manipulate them so that I have full control over their effects?". And so I learned, and I'm still learning. 

BH: Why RoseGold as an artist name?

RG: Simply, because its my favourite color and it fits my aesthetic nicely ;)


BH:You have a beautiful voice. Who inspired you to start singing? take us back to when you realized you can sing! 

RG: Thank you! I don't know if this is going to be the plot-twist of the day, but actually, I started singing when I was 14 and trying to cover some Avril Lavigne and Paramore songs. I was that Angsty Awkward Teen™ that sang in her room pretending to shock her classmates with a rock show performance at the school talent show hahaha. So I picked up a guitar and learned one of Avril's four chord songs (probably Complicated or I Will Be. I don't remember too vividly) and did actually try to perform...I completely bombed it haha. So I actually didn't start singing again until I left my rocker/punk phase behind and discovered softer indie songs, then eventually r&b. I realized "hey, maybe this is more for me", and it was. I started to cover songs by Banks, Lana Del Rey, Florence and the Machine, then Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and even some Motown tunes, and I felt more in my element. 
Still, I hardly performed at shows cause I was still reeling from that time in high school, but I had a lot of fun doing covers with some of my talented friends in Canada and Qatar. And at the end of the day, it really should be about the fun of it all. 

BH: In your own words, how do you see the music scene in Doha? 

RG: I think it needs a chance. I'm sure many have said this before, but there's a lot of untouched talent in the city, and I think that's because the platforms and resources needed to boost these artists up are not as easily accessible or as abundant as they are elsewhere. I know, upon moving to Qatar last year, if I hadn't met Mvrs and Trak, I'd probably still be producing mini beats in my bedroom and doing nothing with them because I wouldn't know where to take them here! They knew the city better than I did and they are well established artists, so they showed me the ropes and introduced me to the new wave of other young, dynamic, versatile, and incredibly gifted Arab artists in the region. That really inspired me to keep going with my music here in Doha. 

BH: How's that EP coming along with MVRS? What can you tell us about it? Will you be producing all of it? 

RG: The EP is honestly a product of realizing the incredible musical chemistry Mvrs and I have, whether making music in Trak's studio or just jamming in the car to our mutual favourite artists. Over the course of the year, he's become the older brother I never had and (sometimes) wanted haha. After we recorded Make U Wait in an impromptu studio session during a vacation we took with our friends, we confirmed that there's a lot of potential we could unlock in one another. He encouraged me to sing again when I wanted to just be comfortable in music production, and conversely, the music I produced brought him back to his roots as a melodic rapper. And it just worked! And now we have an EP in the works that I'm producing in full and we're both vocally present on. 

BH: Who are some of the talent you like from the region? 

RG: What I love about artists in the Middle East is that they each have their particular thing, a trait unique to themselves that gets me hooked on their music. For example, I like N1yah for her ability to freestyle in real time, and her singing voice is outta this world. I like Shébani's lyrical repertoire as well as her creative music video concepts - I could watch her clips on loop! Our boys in the UAE - Menon, Majeed, Mohflow - are crazy epic rappers too. AY the Producer, Bailouni, and Sarah Nabil got insane production skills. There are other artists (Narcy, Omarion Shihottie, Meryem Saci, Mashrou' Leila, Kshr..I could go on!) that actually don't reside in the region, but are originally from a MENA country, and they're making a name for themselves and putting us on the map everywhere around the world, and I think that's profound. 

BH: Being Palestinian/Canadian , how does that affect your production/songwriting? (or how is that represented in your music)?

RG: The intersections of my identity do end up seeping in the sounds I produce, however it's not simple to explain. I used to run the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights club at my university, and during that time I attended and participated in a few spoken word functions that took place on campus. I used to write poetry that explicitly focused on the Palestinian Diasporic plight of having no home to return to and nowhere that I feel I truly belonged. That began to translate in my early musical compositions which are unreleased, but sometimes when I couldn't find the words to express how I felt about my Palestinian identity, I found solace in composing instrumental pieces. That began to develop my confidence in playing the keys, which I eventually combined with percussion I picked up from the Toronto music scene. I will admit that, musically, I identify more with the Canadian scene than anything else, simply because I've lived there for years and I have a direct emotional connection to the music through the memories they take me back to and through the relevance of the lyrical content to my lived experiences. The soft and sampled r&b sound paired with low-fi trappy percussion is what Toronto and London Ontario sound like to me, which is why my music draws a lot from this sound - it sounds like home. 


BH: What kind of feedback have you been getting on your production & songwriting? 

RG: I'm always grateful about the feedback I receive because it is nothing but positive feedback from everyone I know. I have my close circle of friends who will always push me to strive for better by giving constructive criticism (like if a kick drum is too loud etc), and I love them for their honesty and support. As for songwriting, the only person I seek feedback from on my lyrics at the moment is Mvrs actually. I don't like sharing my lyrics with anyone before they hear me sing them, especially if I write from a vulnerable personal perspective. But with Mvrs, I think he is very lyrically gifted and I trust him to always tell me if something I write sounds good or could be better - he's basically been kinda like a mentor to me haha. I've been writing poetry for years, but haven't been writing songs for a long time, and the latter has proven to be more challenging than the former. But like I said before, I learned and I'm still learning. 

BH: Who would you like to work with worldwide & from our region? 

RG: To be honest with you, I'm still new to the scene, so I wanna work with everybody! Right now it feels like there are no limits to what I can and want to do, I just want to experiment and learn as I go. But if I were to pick a few artists now, it'll have to be Kehlani, Jhene Aiko, Quinn, SZA, and Tyler the Creator from worldwide. All of them are major influencers on my sound at the moment, especially Kehlani, but that's cause I'm biased - I've got a major crush on her voice and style! As for regional, I'd say Shébani, N1yah, Meryem Saci, Narcy, and Mohflow - all different vibes, but all talents I would love to partake in projects with. 


BH: Tell Re-Volt something not a lot of people know about you.. 

RG: There was a brief moment in time where I was going to choose "Pandz" or "Panda" as my producer name because that's been my nickname for years to everybody that knows me....I'm really glad I didn't go with that, especially after Desiigner dropped his single "Panda" LOL. My friends still call me Pandz though, and almost never by my real name.

BH: I truly fell in love with your talent & production. Big up Trak & MVRS for introducing me to you. What are your final words to re-volt blog?

RG: Thank you so much Big Hass, it's your support and the encouragement I've received from everyone over the music I've released so far that keeps me going and pushes me to do better. Let's keep the scene thriving in the region!


Listen to MVRS Ft Rosegold track entitled "Way" & you will understand how amazingly talented these guys are.

Iraqi/Canadian Producer "Sandhill" at it again with "THE FISHER"

Pic by Tamara Abdul Hadi - Gaza 2016

Sandhill is one of my favorite producers in the world not just Arabia.. his authenticity & passion are incredible! Check out his latest production entitled "The Fisher" on his SOUNDCLOUD.

One of the reasons why I called him "The Spear Of Arab Hip-Hop Production"

Cover Photo by Tamara Abdul Hadi

Sudanese Producer SUFYVN releases first single off his upcoming EP "Ascension"

I've always appreciated Sufvyn's production..He's always genuine in his production and always trying new things out. I appreciate him. There's no specific genre he's covering, but the blend/the fusion and the vibe is just unique and incredible.

He just release the first single from his upcoming EP "Ascension" entitled "DUST" 



I asked Sufyvn : what could people expect about this release, he said 

"Ascension EP" is an electronic project, where I continue to experiment with traditional Sudanese instruments and rhythms, as well as the use of vintage Sudanese samples, without being tied to any specific genre, other than being my own interpretation of Sudanese music in an electronic context. through the use if traditional string based instruments such as the Oud, as well as Sudanese percussion, and samples salvaged from old vinyls and cassette tapes. personally, I think the more I try and describe the sound, the more likely I'll end up putting it in a box and add a label to it, which is the complete opposite of what I'm trying to do.

You can PRE-ORDER the EP now by CLICKING HERE

Go support your local artists.

#Damarshmallow - Instrumental album by "Damar" | Hip-Hop

Damar is definitely one of my favorite producers in #HipHop! He just released his FIRST Instrumental album containing 27 tracks. 

The album combines tracks produced between 2010-2015 and the Arabic sampling is just genius on this one!

Big up to you brother man. This album is always on my eardrums! 

Salute

DJ Premier : "Marley Marl is #1 for me"

In an interview on my radio show #LaishHipHop, DJ premier stated that his favourite producer of all time is Marley Marl 

He goes on and says that "Marco Polo" is currently his favourite from the producers now-a-days.