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KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna-born rapper Arab is quickly making a name for himself in the local music industry since his signing to Sphethu Records earlier this year, and recently came to his home-town to shoot his debut music video.
What makes this music video unique, said Arab’s mentor and producer Ngane Sikobi, is that it will cover two of Arab’s songs that can be found on his first EP titled Drunk in Studio. The songs featured will be the title track, along with a tribute Arab wrote to his grandmother, simply titled Selina.
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“We shot the video here around Knysna for just that reason – to show youngsters that you have to make it from home before you make it anywhere else. Where you are is where you’ll make it. Then we start turning this Knysna boy into a Western Cape boy,” said Sikobi, who is also at the helm of Sphethu Records and discovered Arab’s talent in 2016 along with Brian Tshabablala of Mind Movement in Knysna.
Arab, whose real name is Ashley Bongani Miles, chimes in with an enthusiastic “yeah”.
According to Sikobi the video for Drunk in Studio is just them having fun. During filming in Nekkies on Monday 28 May, this journalist saw that it will have a militant feel almost, with Arab caught in a trap.
Nur Felix (with guns pointed at him) is not a tourist being held up for his valuables, but a camera assistant from Pilot Films having some fun with the video's bandits. They are, from left, Sonwabo Manzi from Knysna, Lwando Jantjie from Knysna, Vusi Ntuli from KZN, and Simphiwe Thobela, also from Knysna.
“With Selina we didn’t want to follow the lyrics too much – they speak for themselves. But we do have a ‘young’ Arab in the kitchen with his grandmother, sort of a vision the ‘grown’ Arab walks into,” said Sikobi. He added that most of the actors used come from the Garden Route.
For Arab it is difficult to put into words what this moment means for him. “This is the first video that is truly mine after I appeared in one of Duncan’s music videos a while back. It’s exhilarating, exciting… all those words that mean the same,” said the rapper, adding “it’s just joy, joy, joy for me at the moment”.
Arab, beaten up and tied up for his video.
He said that during filming elsewhere in Knysna he gained a new perspective on how beautiful the town actually is, “and now I can show this to the rest of the world, which is priceless.”
Filming in his old neighbourhood was amazing said the rising star. “It also gave me the opportunity to show the kids of the area that by putting your mind to it, you can do whatever you want,” he said.
Since the launch of his EP in February, Arab has performed many times, “and people are loving it”. “I thought my music wouldn’t speak to people but it has, especially with Selina. I have been getting some beautiful feedback on that song,” he added.
To find out about the release of the videos and to see what this local boy gets up to check out ArabNation on Facebook, or ArabMiles on Twitter and Instagram for more details.
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