Jibberish and Sain want to spread the hip-hop message in the UAE
While emerging talents from dance, rock and heavy metal have numerous weekly opportunities to fine-tune their skills, the country's hip-hop artists have been seemingly left by the wayside to make do with makeshift or one-off events to display their talent.
For the Love of Music showcase at The Music Room may alternate genres with each sporadic edition, but the performer Jibberish hopes the talent on display will hopefully show other promoters that the UAE has a vibrant hip-hop community.
"It's a good little scene here," Jibberish says. "Everybody knows each other and people want to help each other out."
The 28 year old – real name Irshad Azeez – is one of 10 artists performing tonight, which also marks his return to the stage as a solo artist after temporarily disbanding from the group Diligent Thought.
Jibberish, who describes his style as "surrealist hip-hop", explains that the six months he took off to concentrate on his full-time career as a shipping agent convinced him hip-hop was his true calling.
"I definitely felt it was a do or die thing for me," he says. "The time off made me realise how much I wanted to do this and do it well, no matter what."
While conceding that the scene has yet to grow when it comes to performance opportunities, Jibberish urges fellow artists to simply work with what's at hand.
"We must do what we can here. Yes, it could be better if we were in the States, but we would have more competition. By making it here, the success would be sweeter because of the circumstances."
With a mix tape on the way (available as a free download from his website) and a tour of local colleges in the works, Jibberish is set for a busy year, although he is still keeping his job, just in case.
The Emirati rapper Hussain "Sain" Hashim says his next job as a fireman would be ideal for his craft.
"Well, I will have time to write," he chuckles. "That was part of the reason I wanted it."
Born in Miami to Emirati parents, Sain describes his sounds as "East meets West". Indeed his single Who's Sain is a neat blend of bouncy, commercial-sounding hip-hop with introspective lyrics.
Sain explains his lyricism stems from his parents' love of poetry.
"My father could stand there and recite poetry from his head. It is deep in our blood," he says. "He was very supportive of what I do because what I speak about is positive and real things happening in life."
Sain and Jibberish agree the local hip-hop scene is still grasping for its identity. However, rather than looking at it as a disadvantage, both believe it can actually work in their favour as artists, allowing them to experiment freely with different styles and techniques.
Sain explains his musical search was also the reason for leaving his hip-hop crew Lyrically Insane for a solo career. "We had all these different styles and we didn't know what to do," he says. "So we decided to go separate ways, find ourselves and once we find our own flow we can come back and start doing stuff together again." Jibberish believes the hard work will pay off in the end.
"No one can come up with a plan other than you," he says. "Promoters want a ready-made product, so we have to come up with our own plan. That's why I'm working hard and killing myself in the studio every day. You have to set it up by yourself and then, do or die, just go for it. That's life."
Co-Sign Kilma Presents For the Love of Music: The Lyricists at The Music Room in the Majestic Hotel, Mankhool Road, Dubai, tonight at 8pm. For more details, visit www.fortlom.com
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