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As rap scene returns, 'Wallaat' lights up Al-Shams theater
By Haya Najdawi, Jordan News
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AMMAN — The Jordanian hip-hop scene is finally coming back to life this November, after an almost two-year-long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
The rap concert “Wallaat”, which in Arabic means “It’s on fire”, sponsored by Wavy Cloud Records, took place Friday at Al-Shams theatre in Amman.
The concert featured Jordanian rappers Bilal Shabib and El-Faouri, alongside Jordanian-Palestinian-Syrian singer, music producer, and DJ Ayham Mojanad, also known as DaMojanad.
Wavy Cloud Records manager, Mohammad Naji, who also happens to be Shabib’s and Mojanad’s business manager, spoke to Jordan News about the event. “We figured we wanted to do something big, we combined our efforts to make it happen. It was not easy organizing the concert and getting the necessary permits, that alone took time,” Naji said.
The company is a new local events organizer and records company that was founded two months ago by four partners, including the manager Naji, ‘Seka’ who is the cinematographer, photographer, editor and the one responsible for visuals, Shabib who is also involved in visuals, and DaMojanad who is the music and sound producer.
“We wanted to combine all our skills into one company, because each one of us has his own specialty and we think we make a strong team, plus we are all good friends and we love working together” Naji said.
“When we announced the concert on social media, the fast response blew my mind, the venue fits around 352 people, we had almost a thousand fans from Shabib’s side alone who wanted the concert to happen, imagine the numbers with El-Faouri and Damojanad’s fans,” Naji added.
He stressed that they followed COVID-19 health protocols strictly. “We checked everyone’s temperature at the door, announced that only vaccinated people could attend the concert, and told everyone to keep their masks on during the show. No smoking was allowed whatsoever inside the venue,” Naji said.
Doors opened at 6pm and the concert started half an hour later. DJ and music producer Damojanad played music and song remixes while the crowds were coming into the theatre.
“This was sort of a new experience for me and it was very exciting. I was a little nervous at first, but every time the beat dropped the crowd cheered loudly and I thought everything was going perfectly, I am all good,” DaMojanad said.
DaMojanad performed some of his songs live, such hits as “Ya Gamar”, which mean “Oh moon” in Arabic, featuring fellow artist BigSam. The song had 15 million views on YouTube alone.
DaMojanad performing at Friday’s concert (Photos: Seka Production)
El-Faouri expressed his excitement to be back to performing live, saying it was “God’s will to be back now”.
“I was really upset that we could not do live shows and I could not wait to be back. I literally find myself on the stage, it is where I am my true self the most,” El-Faouri said.
While he was upset about not being able to perform, he said it was a good thing he was stuck at home last year. “It did me good, I had a lot of free time and that kind of forced me to write, record, and produce a lot of songs. Most of my songs that are coming out now were recorded in quarantine,” El-Faouri said.
He performed 12 to 14 songs throughout the night, including his song ‘Beretta’ which had a show planned just around it. After ending his performance and closing the curtains, two minutes later every member of the team and staff joined El-Faouri on stage again to dance and sing wearing “gang masks”.
The rapper also performed his hit song “Lamma”, which means “When” in Arabic. The song had about 1.2 million views online, and featured fellow rapper “Al Rawi”, who made a special appearance.
Another special guest was the young Jordanian singer Siilawy, who surprised the audience and performed his most recent song “Qudam AlKul”, which means “in front of everyone in Arabic. It had over nine million views on YouTube. Siilawy stayed on to do a couple of songs with Shabib.
Shabib started making music a couple of years ago, but this was his first concert. “I was thrilled and ready to perform. I would say the concert happened at the perfect timing. Even though it was not my first time on stage, its different when it is my event,” Shabib said.
His career “blew up” last year, every time he was alone he would produced a track and upload it. “I really love what I do. By singing, I found a way to express all of my negative emotions, feelings, thoughts, problems, hurts and fears. A lot of people can relate to my lyrics and music and I appreciate that,” Shabib said.
He performed many of his songs, including his favourite track “Ana”, which means “Me” in Arabic. It has had around 556,000 views on YouTube. He also performed his popular song “Mekaneeki”, which means mechanic in Arabic. The crowd absolutely loved it. He also performed some unreleased songs like “Bela Rouh”, which means without a soul in Arabic. He gave an very emotional and touching performance, to the point he cried.
It was a night to remember for fans and performers alike.
Read more Trending
The rap concert “Wallaat”, which in Arabic means “It’s on fire”, sponsored by Wavy Cloud Records, took place Friday at Al-Shams theatre in Amman.
The concert featured Jordanian rappers Bilal Shabib and El-Faouri, alongside Jordanian-Palestinian-Syrian singer, music producer, and DJ Ayham Mojanad, also known as DaMojanad.
Wavy Cloud Records manager, Mohammad Naji, who also happens to be Shabib’s and Mojanad’s business manager, spoke to Jordan News about the event. “We figured we wanted to do something big, we combined our efforts to make it happen. It was not easy organizing the concert and getting the necessary permits, that alone took time,” Naji said.
The company is a new local events organizer and records company that was founded two months ago by four partners, including the manager Naji, ‘Seka’ who is the cinematographer, photographer, editor and the one responsible for visuals, Shabib who is also involved in visuals, and DaMojanad who is the music and sound producer.
“We wanted to combine all our skills into one company, because each one of us has his own specialty and we think we make a strong team, plus we are all good friends and we love working together” Naji said.
“When we announced the concert on social media, the fast response blew my mind, the venue fits around 352 people, we had almost a thousand fans from Shabib’s side alone who wanted the concert to happen, imagine the numbers with El-Faouri and Damojanad’s fans,” Naji added.
He stressed that they followed COVID-19 health protocols strictly. “We checked everyone’s temperature at the door, announced that only vaccinated people could attend the concert, and told everyone to keep their masks on during the show. No smoking was allowed whatsoever inside the venue,” Naji said.
Doors opened at 6pm and the concert started half an hour later. DJ and music producer Damojanad played music and song remixes while the crowds were coming into the theatre.
“This was sort of a new experience for me and it was very exciting. I was a little nervous at first, but every time the beat dropped the crowd cheered loudly and I thought everything was going perfectly, I am all good,” DaMojanad said.
DaMojanad performed some of his songs live, such hits as “Ya Gamar”, which mean “Oh moon” in Arabic, featuring fellow artist BigSam. The song had 15 million views on YouTube alone.
DaMojanad performing at Friday’s concert (Photos: Seka Production)
El-Faouri expressed his excitement to be back to performing live, saying it was “God’s will to be back now”.
“I was really upset that we could not do live shows and I could not wait to be back. I literally find myself on the stage, it is where I am my true self the most,” El-Faouri said.
While he was upset about not being able to perform, he said it was a good thing he was stuck at home last year. “It did me good, I had a lot of free time and that kind of forced me to write, record, and produce a lot of songs. Most of my songs that are coming out now were recorded in quarantine,” El-Faouri said.
He performed 12 to 14 songs throughout the night, including his song ‘Beretta’ which had a show planned just around it. After ending his performance and closing the curtains, two minutes later every member of the team and staff joined El-Faouri on stage again to dance and sing wearing “gang masks”.
The rapper also performed his hit song “Lamma”, which means “When” in Arabic. The song had about 1.2 million views online, and featured fellow rapper “Al Rawi”, who made a special appearance.
Another special guest was the young Jordanian singer Siilawy, who surprised the audience and performed his most recent song “Qudam AlKul”, which means “in front of everyone in Arabic. It had over nine million views on YouTube. Siilawy stayed on to do a couple of songs with Shabib.
Shabib started making music a couple of years ago, but this was his first concert. “I was thrilled and ready to perform. I would say the concert happened at the perfect timing. Even though it was not my first time on stage, its different when it is my event,” Shabib said.
His career “blew up” last year, every time he was alone he would produced a track and upload it. “I really love what I do. By singing, I found a way to express all of my negative emotions, feelings, thoughts, problems, hurts and fears. A lot of people can relate to my lyrics and music and I appreciate that,” Shabib said.
He performed many of his songs, including his favourite track “Ana”, which means “Me” in Arabic. It has had around 556,000 views on YouTube. He also performed his popular song “Mekaneeki”, which means mechanic in Arabic. The crowd absolutely loved it. He also performed some unreleased songs like “Bela Rouh”, which means without a soul in Arabic. He gave an very emotional and touching performance, to the point he cried.
It was a night to remember for fans and performers alike.
Read more Trending
