People by Crystal Abu Dhabi set to launch Rap Game Nights to showcase local hip-hop talent

Nav Wic, co-founder of Rap Game Nights. Courtesy People by Crystal Abu Dhabi

A new club night aims to educate Abu Dhabi’s after-hours crowd about the “true meaning of hip-hop”.

Rap Game Nights is a new bi-weekly event showcasing live and local hip-hop talent, alongside educational brochures and song introductions smuggled in to covertly convert the ground.

Launching on Sunday November 8 at People by Crystal Abu Dhabi, the night is a spin-off from an online web series shot with White Cube celebrating the UAE hip-hop ­community, titled Rvp Gvme.

The “v”s represent open arms, explains co-founder Nav Wic, while the “game” is the battleground between the ghost of hip-hop past and the reality of urban music present.

“Rap today is not about the real issues of ethnicity and culture,” says Wic. “It’s about houses and cars and girls. We’re trying to bring the history of rap into today’s rap game.”

Wic and business partner Namy Kaur plan to do this by presenting UAE hip-hop artists they believe represent the true values of hip-hop – the cultural movement which grew in 1960s and 1970s urban America, giving a voice to marginalised young ­African-Americans through a mix of DJing, B-boying, spray-painting, and rap.

Each night will feature a host MC and two live artists, with former Rvp Gvme subjects Sleepy and Lonestar to guest alongside MC D Rob at Sunday's launch. Organisers stress the acts will primarily perform original tracks, rather than ad-libbed battles the night's name implies. Every edition will host a different theme, with the first an "American house party", with tunes from resident DJ Slim.

Wic, who is also marketing manager at People, admits his inspiration was born out of frustration at the state of the UAE scene.

“The standard is poor,” he says. “That’s one of the main reasons we want to create an awareness of underground hip-hop ­culture.”

To achieve this goal, short brochures peppered with hip-hop history lessons will be scattered on tables, while DJs will be encouraged to occasionally break the golden rule and leave the club without a beat: The silence will be filled with a brief introduction to important milestones in the genre.

“It’s going to be very difficult, because you don’t normally teach and entertain at the same time,” adds Wic.

“It will be about balance – we want to show that knowing and learning can be fun.”

• Rap Game Nights will be hosted bi-weekly from Sunday November 8 at People by Crystal Abu Dhabi, St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort. Doors open at 10pm, and entry is free. Call 050 826 9698