Hagage "AJ" Masaed or Hajaj Abdulqawi Masaed is an American-Yemeni rapper born in Ohio, considered to be the precursor of Yemen Hip Hop music. [1]
From a family of poets, AJ started singing in 1978-1979, born in Youngstown, Ohio influenced by the New York scene. [2] AJ's first time in Yemen was in 1981 after graduating from high school. He then decides to mix Arabic music with Hip Hop music, and in 1997 releases his first song 'Yemen', about the Yemeni traditions, values, superstitions, and shout out's to different cities and villages. In 1999, he released his first album 'Nights in Arabia' in San'a. The rapper moved to Yemen to care for his sick father in 2007 and has been living there ever since. After that, the rapper drew international attention, attending to major events. So far he has released seven albums. [3] [ failed verification ]
AJ's music style is characterized by the mixing of genres. Very influenced by the American funk and Hip Hop as well as Jamaican (reggae), he established this hybrid style by adding the mizmar, an Arabic flute, to some of his first hits. This versatility was also one of the reasons he drew international recognition, since he entered in the Yemeni music scene, he has been partnering up with many American producers, such as Roddy Bo (Rodrick Saunders of Slaptop productions), Kennedy Lofton (Mood Set music), Roger Sims (of Rolor) to name a few, and several Yemeni artists, such as Hussein Muhib, Fuad Al-Kibisi, Fuad Al-Sharjabi, Ibrahim Al-Taefi, Abdurahman Al-Akhfash and others, and helping new ones to develop their talents. Also collaborating with international singer Jamaican artist Raskidus on several songs (on 4 of A.J.'s CD's), Somalian group S.O.Legend, and Tunisian singer MC Rai. He has also played a major role on propagating the understanding of rap as a means of change. [4]
The rapper sings both in English and Arabic and on his lyrics, he often addresses to socio-political issues, like combating terrorism. In 2009, he participated in the first Yemeni Hip Hop Festival with the songs 'No Terrorists Please' and 'One Yemen United', he advocates social changing through rap music. [5]
Since before the 2011 uprising in Yemen, Hagage runs a radio show on Shabab FM Radio mixing rap, hiphop and other new music styles from East and West. He also worked at Yemen FM radio introducing Yemen to Top 40 hits from around the globe. [6]
Toasting or deejaying is the act of talking, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a deejay. It can either be improvised or pre-written. Toasting developed in Jamaica, before it took up that name and being part of the sound system era, a similar sound of it is found in mento and now can be heard over musical styles including ska, reggae, dancehall, dub, grime, hip hop, soca and bouyon music. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying.
Hip hop music has been popular in Africa since the early 1980s due to widespread African American influence. In 1985, hip hop reached Senegal, a French-speaking country in West Africa. Some of the first Senegalese rappers were Munyaradzi Nhidza Lida, M.C. Solaar, and Positive Black Soul.
Yemen, a country on the Arabian Peninsula, holds a prominent position in the realm of music, garnering recognition for its distinctive musical traditions. Revered as a cultural capital within the Arab world, Yemen has contributed significantly to the musical landscape of the region.
Filipino hip-hop or Pinoy hip hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans.
There are several subgenres of reggae music including various predecessors to the form.
Israeli hip hop refers to hip hop and rap music in Israel. Israeli hip hop artists have mainly emerged from the populations of Mizrahi Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and Israeli-Arabs, though there have also been numerous artists from Israeli Ashkenazi Jews especially Hasidim. Israeli hip hop artists enjoy wide popularity in Israel and have succeeded in appealing to international markets particularly the United States.
The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.
Egyptian hip hop is a form of hip hop music in Egypt that draws its inspiration from local, regional and global events. Since the early 2000s, Egyptian Hip Hop has gained significant popularity and is listened to by a global audience prompted by the internet as the latest medium of technology and music streaming services such as Spotify and Anghami.
S. Frederick Small, better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist.
Mutah Wassin Shabazz Beale, better known as Napoleon, is an American former rapper of Tupac's rap group Outlawz. He has since converted to Islam and is now a motivational speaker.
Arabic hip-hop is a segment of hip hop music performed in the Arabic-speaking world. Due to variety of dialects and local genres which exist in the localities, Arabic hip-hop music may appear very diverse depending on the country of the song. Like most artists of the genre, the hip-hop artists from the Arabic-speaking world are highly influenced by American hip-hop.
Palestinian hip hop reportedly started in 1998 with Tamer Nafar's group DAM. These Palestinian youth forged the new Palestinian musical subgenre, which blends Arabic melodies and hip hop beats. Lyrics are often sung in Arabic, Hebrew, English, and sometimes French. Since then, the new Palestinian musical subgenre has grown to include artists in Palestine, Israel, Great Britain, the United States and Canada.
Frederick Crute, known professionally as Kool DJ Red Alert, is an Antiguan-American disc jockey who rose to fame on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM in New York City and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and culture. His weekly radio show airs on WBLS 107.5 FM from Monday to Saturday at 6pm EST.
Northwest hip hop is hip hop or rap music that originates from the Pacific Northwest of North America, encompassing major cities such as Portland (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), and other towns. Northwest hip hop music mixes elements from various genres of music to form a sound different from its southern neighbor, West Coast hip hop. For many years the scene existed mainly as an underground genre, but recently Northwest hip-hop has seen more and more mainstream acceptance, with artists such as Macklemore gaining nationwide attention.
The Gambian hip hop scene is a relatively new scene in African hip hop which developed in the mid-1990s and was heavily influenced by American hip hop and Senegalese hip hop. Gambian hip-hop has been heavily influenced by international music scene including worldbeat, Senegalese wolof music, and American hip hop, as well as traditional Gambian mbalax and n'daga music. Dominican merengue and Jamaican reggae, ragga, and dancehall have also influenced the development of Gambian hip-hop.
Hip-hop or hip hop music, also known as rap, and formerly as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "hip hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own." By the 21st century, the field of rappers had diversified by both race and gender. The music developed as part of the broader hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
Qusai Kheder is a Saudi rapper, singer/songwriter, record producer, television personality, voice actor and DJ. He is the first professional Saudi hip hop artist.
Fuad Almuqtadir is a Bangladeshi-American composer and arranger widely known for defining the sound of new Bangla pop music in the 2000s and 2010s. Aside from his own albums, Fuad has also produced and launched the careers of Bangladeshi pop artists like Mila, Kona, Mala, Anila, Poonam, Topu, Upol, and many others.
Yemeni hip hop is a Yemeni music style and cultural movement related to rap and hip hop culture. It has influences from American hip hop and also from traditional music from the region. It is usually considered to have emerged from mid-2000s and reached its consolidation by 2009 when the first public concert was held in the French Cultural Institute. Although it has a variety of themes, there was an intense production of political songs by the Yemeni Revolution.
Maradona Yeboah Adjei ,, also known by his stage names Guru and Gurunkz, is a Ghanaian rapper and fashion designer. Guru NKZ is a hiplife artist in Ghana. He is known for his contemporary hip-hop rap style that combines English and Ghanaian indigenous languages. Guru's breakthrough was in 2011 when his hit song "Lapaz Toyota" appeared on the Ghanaian music charts. Guru is considered a contemporary hip-hop artist, as his songs venture new ground in the Ghanaian music scene, mixing hip-hop, Afrobeats, highlife, and dancehall sounds.