Urban Desert
Photo courtesy of Centre Stage Management, Dubai
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| Country and Region | United Arab Emirates — Abu Dhabi |
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| Type of Festival | Music |
| Location of Festival | Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Festival Description | The inaugural Urban Desert will showcase some of the biggest Hip hop, Rap, Funk, and R’n’B artists, headlined by Grammy award nominee AKON, Fat Joe, and Black Violin. It will give a lesson of respect to those who only see the glitter (or unrespectful) aspect of this music genre, by seeing Hip hop as a culture, a lifestyle and an art of expression. This one-off date is being preceded by a two date tour of South Africa (cape Town and Johannesburg), also organized by CSM. Sipho Dlamini, vice-president of Operations who is originally South African, explains “It has come time for the Middle East fans to experience a true experience a true Urban experience… Urban Desert will do just that and turn Dubai into a scene of expression for all ages, genders and colors, striving to make the music reach new heights. This is what Urban music is all about; it’s not about what you own or don’t, it’s what you feel”. The entertainment includes Rap DJ’s, dancers, a two-storey suspended bar as a world premiere, a graffiti wall and more activities that will keep everyone entertained in between performances, in a safe and enjoyable atmosphere! |
| Festival Dates | April 18, 2008 |
Festival Events:
Headliners 2008:
- AKON—Senegalese singer Akon first emerged 3years ago, fresh from a jail sentence for car theft that he documented in the top 10 single “Locked Up”. Listeners weren’t sure how to classify his music. “There was no category for me..”, he recalls, “people didn’t know whether I was reggae, R&B, hip-hop, alternative”. Because of this fusion, CSM thought he would be the perfect Artist to represent the idea of our ‘Urban Desert’ and he will bring this one day Festival to a level of amazement!
- Fat Joe—Also known as Joey Crack, the half-Cuban and half-Puerto Rican Fat Joe is one of the few Latino artists with breakthrough success in the predominantly African American world of rap. He climbed to the top of the Billboard charts in 1993 with the hit single “Flow Joe,” and has only gained in popularity since, appealing to mainstream audiences with his hit single recorded with superstar Ashanti called “What’s Luv?” in 2001. Guest appearances LL Cool J, Foxy Brown, Nas, Ja Rule, Ludacris, R Kelly, JAdakissand Puff Daddy to name a few, have led Fat Joe’s 3rd and 4th albums peak respectively on The Billboard 200 at No.7 and No.2 on Top R&B/Hip Hop albums to being certified gold and platinum by the RIAA. His 88th album The Elephant in The Room was released on March 11th this year.
- Black Violin—On May 21st 2005, Black Violin, two classically trained musicians took home the title “2005 Apollo Legends” which catapulted them to international fame. These two gentlemen, KeV Marcus and Wil b along with their DJ TK have created the ultimate synergy between classical and Hip-Hop music. They have toured with Linkin Park’s lead singer Mike Shinoda throughout the USA, performed at the NFL Kick off party with Puff Daddy “Diddy”, performed at the Billboard Awards with Alicia Keys, and been featured on the Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Lil Kim’s, Brooke Hogan’s upcoming albums too. Their performance at Dubai Desert Rhythm Festival 2007 on October 26th (see picture) surprised and undoubtedly won the audience, which led them to playing the next day too, with a demand for them to come back.
Practical Info:
Venue:
- Dubai Festival City
Dubai, Abu Dhabi - Online information visit
http://www.dubaifestivalcity.com/
Tickets:
- Booking
Phone: +971 (0)4 339 05 50
Fax: +971(0)4 339 55 34
Email: tickets@csmentertains.com
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