UAE-based Saudi hip hop mogul Big Hass is back again with another banger, this time in collaboration with Iraqi-Canadian rapper Narcy, UAE-based Somali rapper Freek, and UAE-based Egyptian producer, Big Moe. The hip hop radio host/blogger who also has taken the role of executive procedure alongside Big Moe, has been bringing various talents from across the Middle East together for some exciting collaborations which always lead to great tracks being made.
To Big Hass, this project holds a special place in his heart - because the two rappers involved do. He credits Narcy as one of the inspirations that first pushed him to start blogging about hip-hop back in 2007, while Freek is one of the first rappers Hass became acquainted with when he moved to UAE. For him, this track brings his own journey full circle.But what of the track itself? The title, ‘Ashat Eedak’, translates to ‘bless your hand’ in Arabic, a saying common in Iraq and other pockets of the Arab world used to express gratitude for a favour, or a service. After the initial chorus by Freek, Narcy goes in hard as he usually does with his rugged deep vocals, flexing his lyrical ability as well as his wild lifestyle, followed by Freek not holding back with his interactions with witless people he has to deal with.
The two rappers strike an effective partnership with one another and find a seamless chemistry that only escalates through the second across a subtly mellow yet still hard-hitting drill beat by Big Moe.
Whichever way you look at it, the collaboration as a spectacle is something to marvel at - the very notion of pan-Arab collaborations is something that can only make the music scene as a whole in the region that much stronger. It’s a sentiment echoed by Big Hass, an appreciator and champion of good hip-hop across the region, from Morocco to Palestine and everywhere in between. Here’s to more collabs like this.
