It may sound audacious for Algerian rapper Santo D' Monkey

but taking over the rap scene in Dubai to bless [emphasis ours] the community with genuine artistry and influence the younger generation to become better artists is paramount in his goals. He believes in developing further existing visual content with more meaningful substance and depth cohesive with the Arab hip-hop culture. musivv had a quick catch up with him and here is how it went. 

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How are you? 

I'm good. Thanks for asking, hope you are doing well too!

What's behind the name?

I love watching this one piece and the main character Monkey D Luffy is the kid who gonna be the king of pirates so I added the D' Monkey to Santo to make it unique to myself. Also, I wanted to tap on the anime community in between and bring them on board to hear not just my sound but my art as well.

Do you consider yourself a purist in terms of music? Or do you enjoy other genres of music?

I enjoy any type of music that I like once I hear it and I can adapt, so no am not a purist but I am giving my audience Arabic content while maintaining the quality of sound from the west. 

Among famous bands, who do you want to collaborate with outside of the hip hop genre?

I don't have anyone on my mind at the moment maybe in the near future.

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Outside of music, what is it you do that gives you an escape from a busy day?

Spending time with my friends and doing outdoor activities 

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Funniest experience doing music.

‍Making people laugh whenever I am in front of the camera. I've been myself and people can't deny my energy and I am grateful for that.

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I've been myself and people can't deny my energy and I am grateful for that.

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How has the pandemic affected your music? 

It was chaos and a hard time to live in at that moment but I am glad we are almost done with this nightmare Thankfully Dubai is starting to open up. What are your plans on taking advantage of this? 

Drop better high-quality music, visuals, and aesthetics to bless our audience and consumers. 

Motivated by his love to create vibes and flows, Santo's creative process reflects the same—beat first then melody. Headstrong for what he believes in, Santo makes music not to chase the lights of fame but admits that when it comes, he is ready to use it wisely to make not only his life better but the community around him as well.

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