El Rass
Mazen El Sayed (aka El Rass) is a rapper and music producer from Tripoli, Lebanon. His discography includes 8 albums, the most recent is titled “Ard El Khof” , as well as more than 200 singles in collaboration with other music-makers and rappers from the region. El Rass’s work has earned recognition and visibility in the Arab world, specifically for his dense lyrical content, versatility of styles and subject matter, and his personal sonic approach. El Sayed worked as a journalist before devoting his time to music, and has been described as a subversive voice inspired from traditional and contemporary expression, from the spiritual and the worldly.
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EVENT: Concert: El Rass الراس | Toronto
June 24, 2023 - June 24, 2023Critical Distance is thrilled to co-present El Rass in concert with MARSM Canada at Adelaide Hall on June 24, as part of the exhibition Garden of Broken Shadows, curated by Fatma Hendawy Yehia. As part of his first tour in Canada, El Rass, known for his critical lyrics and performances, will engage with the exhibition’s topics around identity, immigration and adaptation through a vernacular yet deeply philosophical language. Tickets on sale through MARSM Canada.
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EXHIBITION: Garden of Broken Shadows
June 24, 2023 - August 5, 2023Curated by Fatma Hendawy Yehia, Garden of Broken Shadows features works by Lamis Haggag, Katherine Melançon, Ahmed Naji, Anahita Norouzi, and El Rass. In a transglobal world, race and class are the basis of any immigration system. Through the use of organic material, text, sound, and technology, these artists manifest the ways in which one could survive and adapt within new environments. The exhibition interweaves these practices, producing a temporal space in which visitors can experience the possibilities of being both here and there — in both Canada and the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) — simultaneously.
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