time to debunk some myths...

and bury some misunderstandings in the sand. Or grass. YES. Believe it or not, there IS the occasional burst of green in Dubai, and I have the photos to PROVE it, (considering contrary, popular uninformed opinion might argue otherwise). As I've fallen into a bit of a lull here, I'm probably the first one guilty of saying lame crap like, "There's no culture in Dubai." Granted, if your circle only includes Barasti, (think maxim-quality meat-market beach-bar with a decent beer selection,) the beach, Starbucks, and a few more Glam South Beachy Hotel Bars, and the mall, you'd be right. BORING.

BUT I'm the first to admit, I've been a little bit of a lazy twat, and yes, the plethora of knock off Gucci and Prada and L.V. and Hummers and Verssace and Maseratis and gold crap and tacky crap, and skanky girls dressed in their stilettos and lycra-polyester and ads that boast premium and luxury and posh and high end and blah blah blah...all make it very easy to think the Dubai world is shallow. In many regards, it is. But in many regards it is not. There is more than tall buildings and fancy hotels and camels. Really.

For instance, a given lunch with the awesome folks I work with will typically include: A Cuban-American, Philippino, Frenchie, Aussie, Serbian, Egyptian, Syrian, Indian, Brit, South African...and I could keep going. That's culture. That's crazy-awesome-lunch-time banter with a side of pesto. But this is a given about Dubai. This part you don't have to seek out. It slaps you in the face. Now Arab Hip Hop... different matter.

Meet Narcicyst.
Brilliant Hip Hop artist split between Iraq, Dubai and Canada, doing what he can to shine some light on some serious issues from Gaza violence to placelessness and ignorant stereotypes. Powerful lyrics, infectious rhythms. DOPE music.

Title song for the new P.H.A.T.W.A. album.

• Play PHATWA

http://www.narcy.net/audio/phatwatrack.mp3
(just in case the link doesn't work)

Phatwa trailer:
(The first official music video/short film to come off the album)


Current TV documentary
the MC and his art:

Then there's Desert Heat.
Emirati hip hop covering Middle Eastern politics, Arab history,and Mom-love, (cause who doesn't love their mom?) all with a mix of hip hop and Arab rhythms. Fun.

on MTV Arabia...


We'll consider this the first scratch in the dusty Dubai-Myth surface. Green-shots of sprawling parks coming as soon as I get the photos off the camera. Promise. (And please pardon typos. I'm sleepy.)