East-west fusion elicits a mixed bag of reactions; sometimes it hits, but sometimes it just doesn’t, whether it’s in food, art, dance or music. It’s difficult to strike the right balance because there is no formula. But Norwegian rap duo Karpe might have cracked the code.
Imagine this surreal scene: a 2,000-strong, predominantly Norwegian crowd in a packed theatre in north London belting out Allah Allah ya baba (Allah Allah, oh Father) at the top of their lungs. Standing on a raised podium in the middle of the floor section, Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, who is of Egyptian and Norwegian descent, raises his hand and sings the next line of the duo’s hit song: “Wa salam alaik ya baba” or “And peace be upon you”. Fans of all cultural backgrounds and ages—from three-year-olds to retirees—enthusiastically join in. Back on stage, surrounded by a crew of musicians and dancers, Indian Norwegian Chirag Rashmikant Patel, the other half of Karpe, starts his verse: “Nye sedler og nye sedler/ Jeg får nye sedler og nye sedler/ Men ingen ser ut som oss på pengene ennå”; the enthralled audience goes wild. Roughly translated, the line means “I get new bank notes, but no one looks like us on the notes just yet.”
A Hindu Gujarati was a crowd favourite and Norway’s third-most streamed song for 2022 on Spotify; it topped the charts for 41 weeks and won song of the year at 2023’s Spellemannprisen Awards. In all, Karpe picked up five other prizes at the event.
