Being a Syrian in exile can feel like a nightmare you can’t wake up from, like walking through the world as a ghost - invisible and cut off from humanity, or inadvertently haunting those around you who can’t understand your pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqzg8d67q8 “Ghost of Sham” was written and shot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Finnish [...]
Assasi was honored to host Maine Public/Report for America reporter Ari Snider in the studio and backstage at SPACE last Saturday to talk about developing a rap career in Aleppo, leaving Syria, and stories that inspired the new EP Third World Wide Vol. 1. Ari's radio piece incorporates an interview and sounds and photos from [...]
Assasi had the pleasure of taking a break from release show rehearsals to speak with Sam Pfeifle (West Gray Creative) of the Portland Phoenix to discuss Volume 1 of his first solo album, Third World Wide. Sam dived deep into Assasi's music and emerged with a very positive review of the EP! "It is as [...]
Last Friday, Annella Linton hosted Assasi on WMPG (90.9 Portland, ME) Something For The Weekend to discuss Third World Wide Vol. 1 (live on streaming this Sunday, October 17!) and his upcoming album release show at SPACE Portland this Saturday, October 16. They talked Syrian hip-hop, getting to know the Portland hip-hop community, and behind [...]
Assasi is taking over SPACE (538 Congress St, Portland, ME) on Saturday, October 16 to celebrate the release of Third World Wide Vol. 1 with the most epic night of Arab music and culture Maine has ever seen. Buy Tickets Buy Tickets on Eventbrite var exampleCallback = function() { console.log('Order complete!'); }; window.EBWidgets.createWidget({ widgetType: 'checkout', [...]
When you’re stuck between cultures and the world is a mess, why not throw a party? Assasi teams up with Emsallam to laugh in the face of life’s absurdity over a danceable track (Haquin) piled high with layers of darbouka, riq, and cümbüs saz by Lo.Renzo (Lorenzo Mantovani) and Gilbert Mansour. The music video, equally [...]
EDIT: You can now watch Queen City Cypher #2 on YouTube or listen to it on your favorite music service. ... For the second Queen City Cypher, we are honored to feature Maine hip-hop OG Boss! Bangor-areas music fans are invited to watch the live filming, while the global fam can tune in on the [...]
We've got a fresh video for you today featuring 5 artists from 3 countries spitting bars in 4 languages! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkO0855LTk8 Assasi teamed up with Smö (Finland), Fhive Helmi (Malaysia), Mic Son (Syria), and Marleena Arianna (Finland) for an international cypher, recorded live at Reggae Bar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Have a listen and leave a comment telling us what you think!
Announcing Assasi's new YouTube series, "Going Pro Underground"