Everyone knows Egypt's Om Kolthoum, not many however will know Syria's Bu Kolthoum. Mounir Bu Kolthoum, to be precise, is an extremely talented rapper, music producer, and film director who has been revolutionising political rap within the Middle East. Currently residing in Amman, Jordan his videos are mostly influenced by the turmoil surrounding our region, however with Alpha - his latest video release - he puts forward a much more entertaining form of output, while still maintaining a subtle, less direct, political undertone.
Reminiscent of Mobb Deep's Shook Ones Part 2, the beat, lead melody, and bassline share a lot of similarities with the classic release. He addresses a certain scene, not clear if he means regional rap or something else. He doesn't beef with anyone directly but you can tell he is laying it down proper, rapping about having his foot up the scene's ass, how he is illegally high due to his PTSD, questioning weather this nation belongs to white Westerners or to the sons of the ghettos of Damascus. The mostly Arabic song is written and produced by Bu Kolthoum himself, and the video is directed by him and Fanan El Shalabi - a budding female director operating out of Jordan. The entire song is subtitled in English - listen and watch below.Check out Bu Kolthoum on Facebook here and follow him on Soundcloud for more tunes.
