The last thing I would’ve expected is Japanese Jazz musicians in a Saudi Cultural festival.
Thanks to Thamer AlTassan for the video.
Now, I hope some of our musicians can play on big stages sometime soon and have some light shed on them.
I wish Bahrain a safe and prosperous outcome from all of this chaos.
Do not read this or start the video unless you are in a cool contemplative mood 
Another Wind (Nujabes Tribute)
sometimes i wish that everything i saw was what it seemed
but somehow it feels like everything is but a dream
not knowing who you are can be frightening to some degree
so i let the wind carry me to who i oughta be
as i fly to the open arms of some
i am thrown out by the hearts of other ones
but this is life and not everything has a happy ending
this ending can be changed if we just become a bit more lending
so feel free to open your arms to another
be it a friend, family member or a lover
cause love spreads like fire touching all in its path
leaving a few more smiles and happiness as the aftermath
so dont be afraid to let the wind pick up and carry you
cause you’ll be surprised at all the people who you can go through
leaving traces of yourself, memories that can never be erased
these memories will create new ones leaving only happiness in your place
so let this wind move round feel and hear all the sounds
this world is spread so far and wide that you will know no bounds
you will reach for the sky and you’ll grab it and you’ll hold
thinking what can i do to make sure that i never let this go
the breeze feels nice as i lay on a cloud in the sky
floating over people watching cars pass by
the bird above my head keeps singing me a song
as i watch the neighborhood kids exchange laughs and get along
not one cloud in the sky is the same as another
but i gotta say they compliment each other
living life so freely, isnt this how its suppose to be?
wishing they could see what i see, cause i believe i hold the key
the key which opens up the door to no more sorrow
i share my thoughts hoping people borrow
we need a change if we want a tomorrow
people eat way more than what they can swallow
try to be a bit more optimistic
life is good even when it is simplistic
you don’t need the things that youll throw out later
but the things that youll always remember
im here now offering a solution
not for pollution but the peoples retribution
time is gonna get us all in the end
so why fight when we could be makin new friends?
look at your reflection in this polluted water
you don’t see yourself but the future of your daughter
our mistakes are gonna start a bad trend
where our kids will be hurt by them again and again
but i know, people can begin to see with their hearts
cause when we were born we were all blind from the start
pure and untampered a baby is born
let us not make them a future where their dreams will be torn
the wind continues to show me new skies
ive learned so much it could bring a tear to me eye
open your mind and youre a poet before you know it
i step in his shoes just to find out they dont fit
but i think i can understand just a bit more
as to why different people open up different doors
as i watch and learn and take notes in my journal
this reflection i see becomes a bit more eternal
the sun sets and brings an end to this day
i slowly fall asleep and begin to fade away
brought into another dream a new world or so it seems
the reflection of the moon still looks beautiful in this never-ending stream
i begin to walk in a direction i do not know
hoping to find new things to expand on the old
the wind picks me up and i go along for the ride
touching out to all the different people i slowly pass by
Hiphop in Saudi is gaining popularity at record rates, and more and more artists are starting to record their music . A couple of weeks ago I spent sometime with the cool guys at @RedsandAV and met a few cool cats who came to record their music there.
Today I came across this mixtape, which is called Made in Saudi Vol.1 and is made by hiphop artists in Saudi with a few skits from the merito man, Khalid Khalifa, the Saudi standup comedian.
It is cool to checkout their efforts, and there are a few jams that one can get into. The songs are in Arabic and English, showing the infusion that this upcoming generation is.
Enjoy
My friend Hassan (aka @big_hass) asked me if I was interested in helping him video an interview he was planning on doing with a couple of young rappers in Jeddah.
The interview took place near a basketball court in alrawda district, I thought no one would be there playing ball, but to my surprise it was full and loud.
We met the guys, all were extremely cool to be around, we did the interview and they freestyled.
Here is a teaser (YouTube or Vimeo
Tim Granite, MohFlow, and Magic, three rappers living in Saudi Arabia doing their thing for ReVoltRadio.
Full Interview coming soon, so stay tuned
This revolution has no face except apparently for FaceBook, it has no single voice except the voice of the people… but now, it has a soundtrack, and it is an instant classic in my book.
Some of the lyrics:
“Opening the floodgates like the streets of Jeddah”
“The inheritors of mother earth are meek”
“This is modern day signs, we just waiting on Jesus”
“They tried to say the revolution won’t be televised, AlJazeera proved them wrong, twitter has them paralysed”
It has been a while since a song made my heart beat so fast!
“To say ‘Hamdulillah’ is to be grateful for what one has.
The images of the past decades have cast a veil on our identity as a people. We, as international brothers and sisters, are now witness to injustice in real time. We watch our Wars in HD. Injustice is played in real time.
It is time for us to claim our faces back.
This video is a global collaborative effort by 10 photographers- from London to Lebanon, Cairo To Canada, Abu Dhabi to America- to create a portrait of the New Global Citizens. They are DJs, MCs, poets, architects, teachers, doctors, parents and children. Most of all they are people.
Thank you to everyone that was involved. We are blessed to have each other.”
A part of this video was shot in my home town Jeddah, and there is also a clip of my friend Big Hass at 1:53
The song was written by Yassin Alsalman (The Narcicyst) and Shadia Mansour. The lyrics are different in this song than the original Hamdulilah song, I love them both.