Going Dutch

NOX photographer Laith Majali has been charting the rise of Arab hip hop for the past 18 months. The latest stop on his journey took him to Holland to meet Salah Eddine, the most important Arab rapper on the planet.

July 10th, 2008
Despite my desperate desire to see a pillow after 16 straight hours of travelling to reach Alphen, Salah and I talk until 4am while listening to tracks from his new album Horr – with his narration layered over the top like a DVD special feature. Both are thrilling to hear, proving that the Arab hip hop scene will be experiencing a genuine revolution when it is released. His voice is confident and trustworthy, growing on you by the second, and with the additional touches of Arabic samples, it transforms the audio experience into a cinematic one. It is a privilege to be among the first to hear it.

NOX: The album seems a real progression from your earlier work. How would you describe it?
Salah Eddine: It’s a musical journey through the streets of Arabia, an expedition through social and political issues, religion and cultural matters in and outside the 22 Arab states. Pure Arabic, pure hip hop, a pure classic.
 
NOX: Did you approach the making of this album any differently from others you have made? What new influences or flavours have you incorporated?
SE: The approach to Horr is totally different compared
to my previous Dutch work NGN (Holland’s Worst Nightmare). Besides the production, it has a totally different influence. Horr is musically inspired by many legendary Arab musicians such as Oum Kalthoum and Abdel Wahab. Blend that together with the sound of hip hop, integrate Arab drum patterns and drum sounds like the darbekeh, bendir and tabla, and you have a new sound
that we call ARAP… it’s a movement now.

NOX: Have you felt any additional creative pressure since the last album came out, both as an Arab hip hop star in a western country and as an ambassador (wanted or not) for Arabs across the Netherlands?
SE: The Horr album has been in production since 2001. We finished the project in 2008, mixing it and mastering it twice over again, so the creative pressure was enormous. Besides the fact that we wanted to add something new to the music industry, we also wanted to have an original sound that could measure up to universal standards and represent Arab nations globally… So it was a long journey completing this album.

July 11th
I wakeup at midday, Salah and I walk to the grocery store, fix breakfast and then hit a coffee shop, where we extend last night’s conversation to include the arts in general – arts and how artists grow, mature and develop.

The afternoon is lazy. I finish up some e-mails and finalise a few appointments while Salah, ever the perfectionist, listens to some beats. He tells me that a friend has just messaged him to say that there is a concert in Spain with the rapper Palestine, and that they’re expecting more than 40,000 people. It puts Salah in a good mood, and he heads for the kitchen to prepare dinner. A rapper in an apron is, sadly, one photograph I am not allowed to take.

July 12th
Again, we wake up late, drink more coffee, and decide to head back over to Salah’s old neighbourhood and the youth community centre. Many young guys from North Africa hang around, usually surfing the internet, lazily shooting pool or waiting patiently for their turn to play Winning XI on the Playstation. It’s designed, like most places in European inner cities, to keep kids away from “the streets” – meaning crime, graffiti and generally frightening old ladies.

NOX: To what extent do you feel a responsibility to the kids in this neighbourhood?
SE: They are the future, they inspire and motivate me. I hope I can do the same for them by showing them that everything is possible, whether it’s in sports, music or education. I came where they are coming from… without considering myself a role model. 

NOX: The last album sleeve was very controversial... How much is controversy a staple just to get airtime, get noticed or stay ahead of the competition?
SE: No, I approached things very differently this time around. It is very important to do your research before you release something commercially, and you have to be specific when approaching different markets, different groups, etc. I make music from the heart, and there will be a lot of stuff that I will be saying, right or wrong. For some it will be controversial and others will identify with it. I don’t do things for shock value, I do things because I lived them.

NOX: Is there such a thing as “Arab” hip hop in terms of style or message, or is it simply hip hop done by Arabs as it’s done by African Americans or white kids in the burbs?
SE: I think you can talk in terms of “Arab” hip hop when you look at the movement that we’ve already created. Arab artists are coming up from different countries and nations, getting together, touching new ground and experimenting with new sounds and styles. Everyone is representing their own flag, roots and culture, but since hip hop is universal there are no boundaries…
 
July 13th
At 10:30pm, we go backstage and then actually enter the stage with the Wu-Tang Clan; I am on the side just behind the group and close to the DJ. The staggering two-hour set comes to a frenzied, arm-waving climax at 12:30am and we all drift backstage, hanging out for about an hour – all alone, with about 20 local groupies, of course. In recent years, Salah has toured with Wu-Tang members Method Man and RZA and has become close enough to get this kind of kudos. I snap frenetically – understanding the rarity of such access. The guys talk for a bit, and then head out; I catch Method Man outside signing autographs and then I find Salah Eddine with Ghostface Killah firing off more photographs. It was one of those moments in life that you couldn’t replicate in a hundred years of trying.

NOX: What does it mean to you to be respected and appreciated by the likes of the Wu-Tang Clan, one of the foremost rap crews on the planet? 
SE: First of all, respect to my brother [Moroccan rapper] Cilvaringz who gave me a chance to prove myself on his world tour, together with RZA, Raekwon and Method Man. We’ve been blessed by touring all over the world, doing 38 countries. I consider them as family, but in no way am I affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. I’m just blessed to be one in a million with the chance to experience everything from up close. I learned from the heavyweights in the game: Ringz showed me business and organisation, RZA showed me how to create concepts, Rae showed me how to stay humble while Meth showed me how to deliver a great show. Can’t say nothing, just grateful and blessed.

NOX: When will we be seeing you in the region?
SE: There is an Akon concert in the works for Lebanon; if he’s there then I’m there. But keep an eye on the Horr album slated for January 2009, Inshallah, coming out on Universal Records.

NOX: Is there any track on Horr that you think best represents what this album is about, and where Salah Eddine is right now as an artist?
SE: “Horr” is the track that represents my album, and also the name that I carry as an artist…. PURE AND FREE!

For more details and photos from Laith Majali's journey, see NOX 27