KHALIPHA + AYMAN B
TEMPO: Who are you guys?
AYMAN: Well, my name is Ayman. I’m American, from Yemen originally. I am 22 years old and I go to the American University of Sharjah. My hobbies are sports and music. I started performing hip hop music after I met Amr Khalifa, who asked me to help him hype up his show – that slowly got me into rapping.
KHALIPHA: I am Egyptian. I am 21 and have lived in Dubai ever since I was seven years old. I am studying at the American University of Sharjah with a major in finance and a minor in architecture. My interests are making hip hop music, going to the gym and reading comic books (Batman, Spiderman, etc.). I started rapping in June 2006 with my best friend Ismail Makhlouf, just for fun and for the love of rap!
TEMPO: How did you get together to rap?
AYMAN: Amr Khalifa and I became friends during my second semester, about three years ago. Khalifa has been doing this for a while, while I’m sort of new to this. He’s been giving me advice on how to improve my verses because he’s far more experienced.
KHALIPHA: I remember we met at university in the architecture building; he needed help on one of his projects so we started talking. Our discussion drifted to music and once we realized that we are both into the same kind of music we exchanged numbers and decided to perform together in the university talent show. After winning first place in the talent show we decided to explore our chemistry on stage and decided to start making music together.
TEMPO: Who writes the songs?
AYMAN: Each of us writes our own verses, then we try to find ways to combine them – sometimes we add more verses to optimize cohesiveness to the tracks.
KHALIPHA: We also try and produce our own beats when possible. Our music producer and guitarist is Sherif El Abd. Our content is mostly about the consciousness of today’s youth, and they include topics such as the state of rap today, the Middle East (Arab spring), old school hip hop, etc.
TEMPO: Why rapping as your creative expression?
AYMAN: I enjoy rapping because it has an urgency to it. The main reason I write is to perform in front of audiences about messages a feel passionate about. Conveying my message to a large audience is what keeps me interested in writing music.
KHALIPHA: Growing up I remember I was always attracted to rap even before I decided to go into it.
TEMPO: How do you find time to write and produce music?
AYMAN: It doesn’t take us that long to write a verse, but recording the song is usually what takes us a long time, especially with our busy University schedules. We usually record tracks in parts, and depending on the song it could take us anywhere from a day to a few months. We often have to put making music thing on hold because we are both in our last years at the American University of Sharjah and things are getting hectic.
KHALIPHA: It has been tough to balance things at times so we have to prioritize and put music aside when our university workloads get too heavy. Regardless, when you want it to happen there is always time for music.
TEMPO: Do you find time to perform for audiences?
AYMAN: I started as a “hype man” when Khalipha asked me if I was free on the day of the 2011 AUS talent show and I agreed. Ever since then we would go perform whenever there’s an event because we enjoy doing it, and it gives us the opportunity to express ourselves through our verses.
KHALIPHA: I perform a lot all over the UAE and in Cairo. My very first performance was in my high school, at the Universal American School for International Day where I performed a song about Egypt.
TEMPO: Where do you see your rapping going in five years?
AYMAN: For now it’s a hobby that I enjoy. Not once have I call myself a “rapper” and that’s because I don’t feel I’m good enough to call myself that, and also because I don’t want to be associated with others who (with all due respect) put out a more mainstream/commercial sound.
KHALIPHA: I think this could remain a hobby, but one I will have forever. I see myself working in a multinational company, while making music on the side.
REACTION ON WINNING:
Khalipha: Everytime I perform in Abu Dhabi, it reminds me that the drive from Dubai was worth it. I love the crowd and how responsive they always are.
Ahmed Mekki: When I heard we won, I felt really happy because we rehearsed and prepared a lot of performance and it’s good to know that the hard work paid off. All in all, it was a great experience and I would encourage everyone to take part in the future.
Ayman B: I was surprised to know that we won. There was a lot of tough competition and I’m just thankful that we got the highest number of votes from the judges. I would like to thank my friends and fans that made it there to support us. Much love.
