DUBAI: Abdullah Alshaikh (who goes by his family name only) is one of the rising stars of the Kingdom’s hip-hop scene. He released his debut EP, “Karma — The Rise of the Ascent,” on MDLBEAST Records on April 22.
“I get my inspiration for my music from my city, Jeddah,” Alshaikh tells Arab News. “My city has a lot of people — I think maybe 6 million — from a lot of different places, so I was raised with many people from different cultures, and that gives you a lot, you know? So, my music is actually a reflection of Jeddah’s people, and their stories.”
Here, in the first of a new series, Alshaikh highlights some of the songs that have made an impact on him throughout his life.
A song that takes me back to my childhood
“Ya Maneyati” by Saleh Al-Garni. He’s actually the leader of Al-Ittihad’s supporters — the biggest football club in Saudi Arabia. I’d go to the football with my brother. And that song — it’s all about his love for Al-Ittihad — makes me remember good days in the stadium with my team.
A song that reminds me of my brother
Klash is one of the OGs of Saudi hip-hop and “Hawari Jeddah” is his biggest hit. It reminds me of my big brother, the one who’d take me to the football matches — he’s, like, 12 years older than me; I saw him as a superhero, you know? It was him who made me listen to this song. Like, “Bro, there’s someone doing rap music in Arabic!”
A song that’s guaranteed to fill the dance floor
That’s definitely “Nokia” by Drake. I was at the Formula One after-race concert and there was a party next door playing that song and the crowd went crazy, just crazy.
A song that makes me want to cry
It's a song from one of the biggest artists in the Khaleeji region, Rabeh Saqer. He’s one of the greatest. He has a lot of songs, but, for me, his best is “Al-Rasas.” I don’t know how to translate the lyrics, but they’re so deep. I can remember the first time I listened to it; the weather here in Jeddah was so cold — so different from normal.
A song that makes me happy
Travis Scott’s “Stargazing.” That song takes me back to high school. Those were such good days — maybe because I was younger — but life was going so good. I really love Travis Scott. When I first started making music, I really wanted to autotune my voice, but I couldn’t because I was just recording on my phone.
A song I wish I’d written
I could pick any song by Kendrick Lamar, but I’ll go for “Money Trees.” I really appreciate it when artists pay a lot of attention to their lyrics, you know? And I think what Kendrick does is so artistic; you can tell he’s put a lot of hard work into the lyrics, and I really respect that.
A song with great lyrics
I think that would be my song “Al-Jawhara Freestyle.” I really love this song — not because I made it, but because it’s talking about Jeddah, where I was born. I give a shout out to my managers — they’re Sudanese twins — mention where they live in Jeddah, mention their neighborhood in Sudan. I talked about my first show outside of the country, at South by Southwest in London. I talked about real things.
A great song for a road trip
There’s never been a time that I’ve been on a road trip and haven’t played “Min Azabi” by Abadi Al-Johar. He’s one of the biggest artists in Saudi and this is one of his greatest songs.
A song that’s a guilty pleasure
OK, listen: I don’t know why people feel embarrassed to say that Iraq has a lot of good songs and good artists. Anyway, I’ve never told anyone this before, but I love “Mayet Ani” by Sabah Mahmoud. It’s such a great song. It’ll make you sad even if you’re happy.
