When The Outlawz were recently reduced to a duo after the death of Hussein Fatal in a car accident last month, it would have been understandable if the mourning rappers, Young Noble and E.D.I. Mean, cancelled their debut Middle Eastern performance in Dubai on Thursday.
The fact the group pressed on is an enduring testament to their survivor status (Fatal is the third member to have passed on after founder Tupac Shakur and Yaki Kadafi) in what is increasingly becoming a fickle hip-hop industry. Nearly 20 years in the game and The Outlawz remain one of the handful of active touring and recording artists from hip-hop’s second golden age in the mid-nineties. Playing to a nearly full house, the duo reminded us of the good times with a forceful set of vintage tunes ranging from original material in addition to some of Tupac’s biggest hits.
The night kicked off with the latter's Hail Mary; what is a brooding track on the album sounded triumphant on stage with both rappers imploring the crowd to belt out that declarative chorus. Next up was the swaggering High Speed and it served as a demonstration of the chemistry both rappers share. Young Noble's flow was gruff and raw with rhymes dropped like hammers. E.D.I Mean, on the other hand, added some light with his booming voice and playful delivery. E.D.I Mean also reminded the audience of his active solo career by dropping Thug Life. The 2013 single is his best offering yet, with his tight nimble flow delivered over gothic sounding production and a call and response chorus made for an ecstatic crowd.
Fortunately, not everything was relentlessly nihilistic, however, Thug Passion was a treat courtesy of that classic bouncy G-Funk production of bobbing bass lines and soul drenched keyboards. That said, it was only brief sunny respite as we immediately returned to the streets with a pair of Tupac's most furious offerings; the first being the abrasive Homeboyz which had The Outlawz immediately turning up the intensity.
It was the ideal set up for the night's biggest moment and set closer, the Tupac anthem Hit'Em Up. Despite the venomous diss track remaining absolutely brutal 19 years on, it somehow over the years transformed form being what is essentially a hate filled letter aimed at fellow murdered rapper Notorious BIG into becoming an unlikely street anthem. Despite one's views on its artistic merit, Hit' Em Up remains a landmark of gangster-rap and The Outlawz's contribution to the original track has alone cemented their place in the genre's history.
While Hit'Em Up was the night's biggest moment, the best part of the gig came mid-set when The Outlawz directly addressed their suffering. Ever so stoic, Young Noble introduced the track Breathing by addressing his partner and childhood friend E.D.I Mean and stated "you know what? We are the last two breathing." Not one for wallowing, the duo ditched any navel gazing discussion and responded to the realisation the best way they know how, and that's by once again giving it their all to the crowd.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Circe by Madeline Miller
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
