Näss

First  there is rhythm, the sounds of immemorial time, unceasing and  obsessive. From this rhythm is born the communion of seven dancers, a  fusion of energies and bodies, the power of the community with its  inherent violence and weaknesses. 

On  the border between the sacred and the profane, between frenetic  modernity and ancestral rituals, Näss challenges contradictory physical  states and affirms the fusion between the popular and urban aspects of  hip-hop. It questions its proper roots tracing their evolution until  today. Sources of inspiration are the regional dances of Morocco  taskiwine and regadda, as well as the mysticism of the Gnawa tradition.

“The  history of the famous band Nass el Ghiwane* from the 1970s in North  Africa has been of key inspiration to me. Their lyrics reminded me of  the strange connection with the anti-establishment current of rap and  hip-hop from the same period in the United States. I discovered a type  of hip-hop that is more spiritual, impregnated with ancestral  traditions.” – Fouad Boussouf

Näss  reveals a universal dimension, the eternal quest of men and women for  someplace else, spiritual or physical, using as language the rhythm,  that which unites and moves the bodies. Fouad Boussouf stands behind a  kind of hip-hop that is strongly anchored in its tribal African roots.

Source: Fouad Boussouf

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