Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Arabian Knightz, Egyptian hip-hop musicians, are known to be the voice of youth today, amidst political crisis in the Arab world.



Music has known to be the strength and a means of strengthening perpetual hope for society since its inception.



Formed in 2006, Rush, Sphinx and E-Money are the three founding members of Arabian Knightz. Their adaptation of Arab perspective to music with both English and Arabic raps helps them reach a wider audience.



According to the group, Arab League Records, the first international Arab hip hop record label was formed amid a growing fan base and numerous collaborations with other Arab hip-hop artists. Desert Saga Volume 1 mixtape was their debut release, followed by the “The One.”



Their latest release, Uknighted State of Arabia, features instrumentals led by traditional percussions and players.



The group has released singles “New Day”, “Knightmarez” and “Desert Queen” featuring Khaled Seleem, and has collaborated with Snoop Dogg and Steele of Smif n Wesson.



Saudi Gazette spoke to Sphinx, a member of Arabian Knightz in an exclusive interview.



Sphinx said: “I think our music adds to the awareness of the youth. Because I know they have already lost hope in political and religious leaders, so they look for the alternative. We try to give them something more positive to listen to. Plus we give them a platform through arableaguerap.com to allow their voices to be heard as well.”



He added: “I think the chemistry between our group is great and plays a major role in the sound that we are able to create in our music. Were different but we blend well together.”



Sphinx said after meeting through the art of the cipher the guys decided to make a track together just to see how the audience would react.

“It was the first time Egyptian hip hop was done with more of a “hip hop” sound and not just POP.



“So we didn’t know how people would react. If they even cared enough to listen, especially with the political content. So we recorded anyway, released the track and surprisingly people really liked it.

“They were ready for a change from the “Habibi Music” and wanted an alternative.”



The positive feedback inspired the Knightz to graduate from “our music from just a hobby and culture we lived by to choosing music as a career.”



Sphinx said he was about 13 years old in Los Angeles, when he saw “a couple of the seniors standing in a circle at the lunch tables banging a beat while one of the guys would freestyle.”



He said:”I always loved rap music even before that moment but seeing it done before my eyes and the attention it received made me want to try it.

“So I went home every day finished my homework real fast and would try to at least write a full page of rhyme.”



Sphinx did not know what a bar or measure was in music or how to pattern his rhymes but he kept listening. “Then about two months later I was brave and confident enough rapping to try in one of the lunch ciphers. After doing that and getting props from the older kids, I just kept on going with it and writing more until I recorded my first song in college. And the rest is history.”



Sphinx said it is necessary to make as much of a positive impact as possible with music. Many Arab artists use music and hip hop to spread their message to make a change and create awareness.



“Fokkak” has been Arabian Knightz’ biggest hit to date. It was produced by Fredwreck and made it to the top 10 music charts at the time.



“I think it still gets a lot of play on radio music video channels. But I think it was that song that initially opened the doors to Rap in Egypt and gave the young artists hope to create music for themselves.



“So were really proud of the impact of that song. It even has an interesting story behind it. When we first started doing music we sat with one of the owners of the biggest music video channels in the region and he told us to ‘Fokkak (forget about it”)’ from doing political and social conscious music and to just do club tracks.”



They were advised against their original content and were told they would never get played on commercial channels. “So we kind of told him and the fake media to ‘Fokkak’ with that song and ending up being on his channel as well as all the other ones.”



Sphinx admitted: “Egypt is in a bad spot right now. But I think its normal because we are rebuilding and experimenting with how to do it properly. And we definitely know now that what is going on right now is definitely not what we want. So we hope for change in direction real soon.”



Arabian Knightz launched an online portal for artists across the Middle East. “What we are trying to do for the Arab world is create a platform through arableaguerap.com for artists in the entire region to get to know each other and hear each others music.



“We all speak the same language and I feel that we can learn a lot from each other. Most importantly understand what we are all going through. Because I’ve seen a lot of hate between a lot of the Arab countries and I think that through art we can change that hate to love and awareness.”

“There are so many great artists and genres that we would love to mix and collaborate with, just because the language of music can bridge so many gaps in society.



“But on the urban music side I think we can make something great with Nas and Damian Marley.”



He said Arabian Knightz would like to make music with great Arab artists like Fairuz, Mohamed Mounir, Cheb Khaled and Sherine among others. “We just want to try to make good music so whoever is down to try something new and different we all for it.”



All three members work day jobs, but Sphinx said: “I think regardless of the fact in one way or another we would still make music because at the end of the day it’s still something we like to do. I don’t really see it as being a job.”



He said one the biggest accomplishments were to gain attention of FredWreck in 2006. “Having him believe in our movement and like our music was enough.”



Among other big moments for Arabian Knightz, Sphinx mentioned: “Being able to travel and share our music in Europe and other Arab countries and of course chosen to represent Egypt in the Africa Express tour with Damon Albarn, Paul McCartney, M1 from Dead Prez and many African artist from all over the region.”



He said the “ultimate dream” is seeing world peace in our lifetime. “But musically I guess we would like to see ourselves make it to a bigger and international platform and being that bridge between Middle East and West.”

Arabian Knightz new release is a feature with “Grime” music called “E7na El Hokooma, or “We are the Government”. Sphinx said Arabian Knightz fans seek inspiration from the new release and another one of their songs called “Prisoner” to get hyped up before protests.



“Our plan is to definitely make more music and keep trying to progress with each song. We just got some new music from FredWreck and other producers and were going into the new album real soon. So the fans can definitely keep their eyes and ears open for more classics to come. We have a few free mixtapes were dropping for Arabian Knightz as well as the entire Arab League Allstars roster.”



Sphinx advises Arab artists to keep reading, perfecting the craft to keep their dream alive. “The people are tired of the old ‘same ol’ music and their ears are begging for new. So just keep releasing music and get your voice heard.”



When asked how music helps fight their cause, he said: “I hope it helps but we just try to motivate and create awareness. But it definitely gives us a big enough platform to be heard by the right people and spread our message as far as it can go. And hopefully the world will one day be Uknighted (united).”