{"id":39228,"date":"2022-06-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/what-went-down-hassan-hajjaj-oasis-festivals-collaborative-event-marrakech\/"},"modified":"2022-09-04T01:05:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T01:05:08","slug":"what-went-down-hassan-hajjaj-oasis-festivals-collaborative-event-marrakech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/what-went-down-hassan-hajjaj-oasis-festivals-collaborative-event-marrakech\/","title":{"rendered":"This is What Went Down at Hassan Hajjaj and Oasis Festival\u2019s Collaborative Event in Marrakech"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the mercury rises and layers of clothing are subsequently shed, Marrakech is back to being one of the region\u2019s party hotspots. Recognized for its festive atmosphere, the red city, nestled in the Moroccan south, has a penchant for attracting visitors from all points of the globe during summer \u2014 and this last weekend was no exception.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two of the Kingdom\u2019s artistic powerhouses recently teamed up to conceive a one-of-a-kind event called Dar Mbari. Spearheaded by Marjana Jaidi, founder of the renowned Oasis Festival, and contemporary photographer Hassan Hajjaj, the dynamic duo worked hand-in-hand to string a unique, and most importantly, fuss-free celebration of the North African country\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The day-long celebration of arts, music, and talent saw some of Morocco\u2019s finest creatives flock from their respective cities to support each other, flaunt their varied skills, and shed some light on the industry in the most authentic way possible. For an entire day, titles and numbers were set aside to make room for an honest sonic meeting to take place and bring more heat than there already is in the Ochre City of Marrakech.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Oasis
Shot by \u0421\u041e\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e\u0412 \/ SOLOVOV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hajjaj and Jaidi stand for a lot of things, including pushing their home country\u2019s culture forward and making sure that it is accessible to everyone. The two industry-beloved creatives did not scrimp on the way they delivered their latest venture, bringing hard beats, around-the-clock events, and memorable moments for the handpicked pool of attendees to enjoy. From Mbari House\u2019s symbolism to its actual layout, everything was thoroughly thought out to highlight the ongoing cultural shift taking place in Morocco as well as those coaxing the scene with more or less silence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMbari actually refers to a club in the sixties founded by Chinua Achebe and it was a place for artists from different disciplines to come together<\/a>, collaborate and show their work. There\u2019s a quote from the founder that sums up the spirit which reads \u2018Mbari is a celebration through art, of the world and of the life lived in it.\u2019 That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do while also showing the amount of creativity in Morocco,\u201d Jaidi told Mille.<\/span><\/p>\n

Echoing on Jaidi\u2019s statement, Hajjaj added: \u201cThis is our first trial and honestly, so far so good for both of us. We\u2019re not making any money from this but all we want is for it to work \u2014 one, for the culture, and two, to do something in Morocco and to rely on a Moroccan audience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Oasis
Shot by \u0421\u041e\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e\u0412 \/ SOLOVOV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s quite late in the afternoon when we start making our way to the event. Held at Hajjaj\u2019s recently-opened Jajjah space \u2014 a new multi-purpose location in Sidi Ghanem that includes an art gallery, shop, and restaurant \u2014\u00a0 that brought together attendees from all over Morocco, the region, and world to mingle and connect as they waited for performances and panel talks from some of the scene\u2019s favorite faces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Resonating with young and old adults, attendees sat around a very Maghrebi-decorated room. The Arab world\u2019s most-streamed artist ElGrandeToto, accompanied by Small x, Draganov and Dizzy DROS, some of the kingdom\u2019s main chart-topping artists, all found a seat in Hajjaj\u2019s Marrekchi nest for an in-depth panel discussion that probed why Moroccan hip hop is leading the MENA region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For about an hour and thirty minutes, the fan-favorite MCs passed the mic to one another (much like we saw some of them do on Toto\u2019s stellar \u201cSalina\u201d cypher<\/a>) to share their thoughts, ambitions, and aspirations on their respective careers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Shot by \u0421\u041e\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e\u0412 \/ SOLOVOV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been 10 or 20 years where there was not a single penny in the industry. People were doing it for the love<\/a>,\u201d said Dizzy DROS. \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re able right now to sit down and discuss contracts with these big labels and be able to live off the things we love to do is great for us, the culture, and obviously the country,\u201d added the artist, who is one of Morocco’s most successful rappers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Passion and hunger are the fuel to these creatives\u2019 engines. Well aware of the Hercules task laid in front of them, those that are now considered as confirmed artists have been striving towards recognition and success for years, not to say decades. From a grass-root level, they, without exception, all had to design and build the industry we see today, which wasn\u2019t without hurdles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been independent all the way and it\u2019s been a very big fight. I understand all the problems the new generation has when it comes to the money, when it comes to producing and so on. You need help. And at the end of the day, I feel like I\u2019m in a position where I can fight that for all of us. It\u2019s about keeping control over our products and narratives\u201d the rapper continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing the quartet sit on the sedari (Moroccan couch) felt like they had finally acknowledged reaching the peak of their powers as well as the responsibility that comes with that. The supportive, give-back attitude was apparent through their energy and words. It was also transfused to the crowd, that had been patiently waiting to see this iconic group of lyricists shed their sonic crafts onto them. It\u2019s almost eight and the curtains finally peel open, providing party-goers with exactly what they were expecting: a performance to remember.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mbari\"
Shot by \u0421\u041e\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e\u0412 \/ SOLOVOV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panellists, including female rapper Khtek<\/a> who joined afterwards, took over the stage, one after the other, making attendees eager for an exclusive concert, or should we say informal meeting, between the audience and artists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ElGrandeToto, who came up last to wrap up the show, invited the rest of the crew for one last dance before the night came to a triumphant close. Diffusing \u201cSalina,\u201d his last release, onto the energetic pool of people felt like the cherry on top of the cake while also tangibly embodying the sense of brotherhood displayed during the panel conversation earlier on in the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

From food and music to art and passion, Mbari House was a clear-cut success. Pushing the culture onwards and upwards, the event undoubtedly achieved its main objective: to nurture a blossoming scene with every individual, regardless of how influential they may be, that wants to add their straw to the already rich haystack of culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Passion was obviously more important than any kind of financial gain and it was adamantly felt by all party-goers through genuine interactions and authentic meetings. It\u2019s hard to believe that this was Jaidi and Hajjaj\u2019s first event, and considering how things went down, we are unable to think of how it could possibly be better in future years, a challenge only they\u2019ll know how to overcome \u2014 if the need ever arises, that is.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the mercury rises and layers of clothing are subsequently shed, Marrakech is back to being one of the region\u2019s party hotspots. Recognized for its festive atmosphere, the red city, nestled in the Moroccan south, has a penchant for attracting visitors from all points of the globe during summer \u2014 and this last weekend was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4190],"tags":[14706],"primary_tag":[16936],"ppma_author":[4185],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":4185,"user_id":6,"is_guest":0,"slug":"yassineh","display_name":"Yassine Hariss","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eea5e5732e3d1fe9382f8d13b3f004d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","description":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39229,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228\/revisions\/39229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39228"},{"taxonomy":"primary_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_tag?post=39228"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milleworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=39228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}