Egyptian hip-hop.

theballatician — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:15:53 +0000

As my previous post indicated, I’m finally back after all those exams and some time off to get some things done (and also some partying, I have to admit). Anywayz, I’m ready like spaghetti, so I want to share two Egyptian hip-hop music videos with you, that my friend Ahmed from Cairo sent me some time ago, because as he told me that’s also the topic of the music: Party & be happy.

By the way, I also used some parts of the first track for my Cairo video.

Andi / @IAMGANDINO

09 Memories: CAI, NYC, TKO.

theballatician — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:01:28 +0000

I know, I know, I know. 2010 is well under its way and that’s also the reason, why I didn’t get to do this post before. But it really needs to be done, because 2009 provided some great memories in three completely different cities on three continents, all along with some great friends – made possible by low air fares. For each one, I’ll have a video and 15 photos (I tried to cut it down, but it wasn’t possible, so you’ll get some more – click on them for bigger view). It all began in April, when I visited my homie Ben in Cairo.

CAIRO

I was there. I saw them. I went into one. From that point on I knew, that they really exist. Insane!!!

I loved walking along the Nile. And I loved those lions at both ends of the Tahrir Bridge.

One evening, Ben and me wanted to go to the Citadel and got into this annual fair along one well known street in the old islamic part of Cairo (many mosques). And yes, the carrousels are hand operated. The kids enjoy it anywayz.

Another evening, we ended up at a party on the 16th floor in Zamalek. There was also a pool on the roof. Yay!

We also went on a Feluka, a sailboat, and of course there was no wind at all!!! But on 360 evenings a year, I would recommend this ride to you.

Here, we were having something to drink after we got off the Feluka. Dope just to chill by the Nile at night.

Downtwn Cairo has many, many beautiful buildings as you can see.

The Tahrir, the busiest street junction in the city.

As I was walking along the Nile, I discovered this market garden.

You can’t go wrong with these type of pictures. Plus, you can see a highway bridge. There are many of them in the city – much to my surprise.

Sport connects. We became friends on the basketball court. And even though we didn’t speak the same language, it was laughter all the way home. Hope, they are doing good.

This picture was taken on my last evening in Cairo, when Ben took me to Hotel Windsor, where we had a great dinner. Ben must have been tired as hell, since I don’t remeber him having a good sleep during the two weeks I was there. But you can’t tell from the pic, right? Son ist looking good!

You’ll see these and many more photos in the following video. Some of them are blurred, so just take it with Egyptian ease. The feeling is essential. Also in this video you’ll see me climbing down into a pyramid, kids break-dancing and us crossing the street!!!

This was the most adventorous trip of them all and Cairo has so much energy, every second. Mother of all cities.

NEW YORK

In May it was time to travel to NYC along with Chris for a long weekend to check out some of them stores, the nightlife, and also to make a trip north to Boston to visit Simon.

That’s the first thing lots of the immigrants saw back then, so that’s the first thing you’ll see here.

The Manhattan skyline, photographed from Brooklyn.

This is probably my favorite pic from NYC: Chris and me at atmos NYC in Harlem. Chris from atmos took this photo.

This is dope. It’s not a sneaker store, it’s a warehouse up in Harlem.

This is a church in Harlem. I took this pic while we were driving, because I was astonished by the shops it also contained.

The board walk in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Everybody wants to take a pic of Chris at Times Square. Haha.

When I can’t sleep, I think about the meaning of those words, which leads to me losing even more sleep.

This is Chris in front of the DKNY sign on Hudson St. After being a fixture for years, it was taken down in the meantime, so we were lucky to just walk by it.

A store in SoHo. For obvious reasons.

Chris and me in Webster Hall.

These two photos above are just so NYC.

I took this photo in a bar in Cambridge, near Boston.

Simon and me on the Harvard campus. Yes, he’s a smart kid.

This leaves our short film titled It’s about to go dowwwwwwwwwwwwn (that was the official slogan for our long weekend in the US) for your viewing pleasure. It starts with our arrival at the airport, I was then in New Jersey, while Chris took photos in Manhattan, we then drove to Coney Island, the next day SoHo and Webster Hall and the last day we were in Boston, before our night at the airport began.

New York really derserves all those songs. There’s a special vibe there.

TOKYO

Finally, Chris went to Tokyo for his documentation, so I joined him for a few days there.

Shibuya crossing. You have to see the incredible amount of people with your own eyes.

In Akihabara, you’ll find everything video game and gadget related. I even got me some t-shirt there.

These two photos should just show you, how tall I felt at times. For every tall person visiting Tokyo: Don’t wear hats. Believe me, you want to see what’s in front of your forehead.

Chris won a limited urban vinyl figure at Secret Base, so they took a Polaroid shot of him. If you ever see us in the streets, we can also tell you a damn funny story on this one. Hehe.

On Cat Street you’ll find a lot of stores. I really like this shot because of the three different buildings.

I took this pic in HMV just to show you.

Sleeping everywhere. I mean, come on.

Yoyogi Park. Rocky Rocky Joe.

This was the river next to our hostel, we had to pass every day.

This is the street of our hostel. Again can’t go wrong with a pic like this.

That’s me in a BAPE store. Psssscht.

This is a shot from Odabai, a large artificial island, that has developed since the 1990s as a major commercial, residential and leisure area.

This was the spot I liked the most in Tokyo. You could take a walk without any cars or noise, but with this view of the city!!!

We made so many videos in Tokyo, but this one right here sums it up pretty well. You can find all the others here.

Tokyo is just another dimension. My first sight at the city was when I woke up on my ride from the airport and suddenly found myself as high as maybe the 10th floor of the buildings we passed, while two bridges under us crossed.

Let’s see what 2010 holds in font of us. Have a great year every day.

Andi / @IAMGANDINO

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Egyptian hip-hop.

09 Memories: CAI, NYC, TKO.