صوت الشعب/Voice of the People: HipHopNa

Welcome to Saut al-Shu'ub/Voice of the People, an occasional feature on Middle Eastern hip hop and pop music. First up:

HipHopNa

It's a few years old now, but MTV Arabia's 2007 show HipHopna (Our Hip Hop) is a great introduction to the rapidly developing realm of Arab and Arabic-language hip hop. 

HipHopNa was the brainchild of Sam Wahab and Wasseen Hamdan. The two hosts are Qusai, a rapper and singer from Saudi Arabia, and Fredwreck Nasser, an American of Palestinian descent known for his production work with Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, and many other prominent US pop stars.

The show follows the contestants (both individuals and groups) throughout the production process under the auspices of Qusai and Fredwreck. The groups write lyrics and develop their performance skills, and the show culminated in a final performance showcase. Fredwreck and Quasi have followed up their efforts with the 2009 Beit al-Hip Hop for MBC, which follows more of an American Idol/Big Brother model than HipHopNa. 

Beit al-Hip Hop

There are plenty of Youtube video clips from both shows, and the hosts mix Arabic and English, though the songs lyrics aren't translated. In some upcoming posts we'll focus on different hip hop artists, the impact of Middle Easterners on American hip hop culture, and more.