Synopsis
COMING SOON!!
Locations: Morocco, US
Languages: Moroccan Arabic, French, English (Subtitled in English)
Cast:
Khalid Douache, Ouassim Addoula, Fatima Medaoui, Amine Yahyaou, Taofik
Hazeb, Othman Benhami, Azzedine Bouhoute, Hatim Bensaleha, Khalid Filalli,
Adil Benchakeroune, Mohassine Tizaf, Khalifa Mennani, Khalil Belkas, Achraf
Aarab, Joshua Asen
Directors: Jennifer Needleman and Joshua Asen
Producers: Jennifer Needleman and Joshua Asen
Writer: Jennifer Needleman
Editor: Jennifer Needleman
Jennifer Needleman
co-Director
co-Producer
Editor
Joshua Asen
co-Director
co-Producer
Jennifer Needleman is a writer/director/editor currently residing in Venice, CA. She and co-Director Josh became best friends during their time at Brown University, where she studied creative writing and was the resident Hip Hop DJ. After college, Jennifer went on to become the features reporter and editor for the historic Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. Two years later, she was accepted into the Graduate Screenwriting Program at the USC School of Cinema-Television. She and Josh formed Rizz Productions Inc. in 2004 and embarked upon the creation of their first feature-length film, I LOVE HIP HOP IN MOROCCO.
Joshua Asen is currently an ESL teacher at a public elementary school in a largely Arabic-speaking neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. He and Jenn became partners during their time at Brown University, where he studied music and French. After college, Josh went on to work as an international liaison for Roc-a-Fella records. In 2004, Josh received a Fulbright grant to study the effects of American Hip Hop on Moroccan youth culture. He linked up with Jenn, who was a film student at the time, and the idea for I LOVE HIP HOP IN MOROCCO was born and blossomed.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
H-KAYNE
FNAIRE
MOT DE PASSE
MC BIGG
BROWNFINGAZ
H-Kayne made history in 2005 by becoming the first Moroccan rap group to be signed to a major label, Platinum Records (an affiliate of Universal Music). The group's founding members hail from the city of Meknes and began performing together over ten years ago. In 2000, they were joined by DJ Khalid (a semifinalist at the 2000 DMC world DJ competition), and released their hugely-popular debut album, "1 Son du Bled'Art" which they distributed themselves and followed up with performances all over Morocco, establishing themselves as the leading group in Moroccan Hip-Hop. Since then, H-Kayne has been the headlining Hip-Hop group at all the major music festivals in Morocco, including the Boulevard des Jeunes Musiciens and the Essaouira Music Festival, and was featured in a commercial for Danon yogurt. They recently released their much-anticipated second album, “HK 1426” which is available online and worldwide. www.h-kayne.com
A founding member of the pioneer Casablanca group, Mafia-C, MC Bigg went out on his own in 2005 and was immediately hailed as the premier Arabic-language rapper. He has since produced his first solo album, the soulful ‘Maghraba Tal Mout’, blending American R&B classics with hard-hitting Moroccan rap. Bigg is currently on tour across Morocco.
DJ KEY
Founder of the Original Hip-Hop collective, DJ Key is one of the pioneers of the Moroccan Hip-Hop movement. For over a decade, DJ Key has been the leading Hip-Hop DJ in Morocco, turning out dozens of mixtapes, organizing concerts and workshops across the country, and bringing true Hip-Hop into the nightclubs. His unique blend of Old & New School rap and his world-class mixing skills have earned him the title of #1 DJ in Morocco, but it is his passion for Hip-Hop that has made him a central figure in the Moroccan Hip-Hop community. He has produced several hit mixtapes and is currently on tour with H-Kayne and also performing on the festival circuit in Morocco.
Founded in 1998 by a Moroccan breakdance champion-turned MC and producer, Fnaïre has made a name for themselves and for their native city of Marrakesh by using traditional Arabic music in their songs. Their self-produced first album, “Laftouhe”, offers a brilliant fusion of traditional sounds and melodies in a uniquely Moroccan hip-hop style. Fnaïre has also produced their own music videos, using Marrakesh as the setting for humorous scenarios juxtaposing traditional culture with Hip-Hop culture. These videos have earned Fnaïre recognition as the leaders of the ‘traditional’ school in Moroccan Hip-Hop. In 2005, Fnaïre performed on a nationally televised musical showcase, giving Moroccan Hip-Hop its broadest exposure to date. The group just completed work on their second album, “Yad El Henna”, which they will distribute themselves.
One of the first female MCs to come on the scene in Morocco, Fati Show made her debut at the I Love Hip Hop in Morocco festival in 2005 as part of the Fez duo, Mot de Passe. She has since embarked on a solo career, releasing hot new tracks of her own straight to the internet.
A native son of Marrakesh, Brownfingaz, aka Big Moor, learned English from listening to the golden era of American Hip Hop, studying the lyrics of such legends as KRS-One, the Wu Tang Clan, and Onyx. He immediately began writing rhymes of his own in English and, over the past 10 years, has been developing a native-level flow in his adopted language. Brownfingaz debuted at the I Love Hip Hop in Morocco festival in 2005 and even offered his first verses in Arabic. He is currently working on his first solo album.