Everyone has their reasons for working alone, whether it’s too much beef with other rappers or wanting to assert more control over their sound. Working alone as a rapper, though, can sometimes mean they’re missing out on new inspiration. One man refusing to stand for this fragmentation of the Arab scene is Saudi hip-hop guru Big Hass, who looks across the region and diaspora for collaborations.
In his latest release, ‘Khadsha’ - which takes on the form of cypher - Big Hass has brought together five artists, including Chicago-based Palestinian-Jordanian rapper, Shouly; Saudi rapper, Blvxb, Jordanian-Palestinian rapper, El Far3i; Lebanese MC, Edd Abbas; and Palestinian rapper, Maysa Daw, with music production courtesy of UAE producer Rayan. Each rapper got a videographer in their respective countries, with what looks like some kind of instructions to follow, gathered and then edited with additive VFX from Raed El-Murdish, for a visual extravagant in a very clever manner.
It certainly sounds like no easy task, but Big Hass proves he’s one to fuse together diverse sounds under one direction.
