Meet Big Hass, the Saudi hip-hop guru who is turning the tables
“It’s hard to believe that Hassan Ahmad Dennaoui – better known to his readers and listeners as Big Hass – has only been in the industry for four years. But during that time, the 35-year-old Saudi Arabian has turned himself from an army of one into a force to be reckoned with in the regional underground music scene.
After falling in love with Arab hip-hop in 2009, Hassan founded Re-Volt Magazine, an online outlet that focuses on “real hip-hop culture through its six elements and the richness of our Arab culture in all domains.”
Hassan elaborates: “When I heard artists such as Lowkey [UK/Iraq], Omar Offendum [Syria/U.S.A], Shadia Mansour [Palestine/UK] and The Narcicyst [Iraq/Canada], they simply made me believe and realize that hip-hop is a culture. And it made me go back to its roots… its essence, which is power of the word and a voice of the voiceless.”
Shortly afterwards, the media mogul also bagged a presenting gig, hosting the Kingdom’s first ever FM hip-hop radio show, called “Laish Hip Hop?” Al Arabiya News met Hassan to find out more about his journey so far and what else he has in store.
Tell us a little more about your background. What made you choose a career in music?
I’m pretty much like everyone else; I got into music, simply because it made me feel good and free. I actually learnt the English language from music, as well as from the game of basketball. Being in Saudi Arabia at the age of 16, we as nationals were not allowed to go international schools at the time, and so my father – may his soul rest in power – decided to change that and took us to Sharjah, UAE, where we actually started to learn English. Music lyrics and watching late night NBA basketball games helped me improve my English tremendously.
Source: english.alarabiya.net