Few teenagers can dream of scaling heights of success as Rashed Belhasa has done. But for a young lad - he's just 17 - he has a very mature perspective of the world. The Emirati social media sensation made his fortune and fame through sheer hard work. His Instagram account has racked up about 1.6m followers and his YouTube channel, Money Kicks, has 2.2 million subscribers and counting. His exclusive and rare sneaker collection is the stuff of legends. Son of eminent Dubai entrepreneur Saif Ahmed Belhasa, Rashed's Dubai home has seen scores of A-list visitors. But with so much going for him, Rashed is extremely grounded and comes across as an unpretentious person. "Even if you make lots of money you have to be humble, never change yourself because money is not the most important thing in life," says Rashed. And it is with this humble, but upbeat attitude, that Rashed is moving on to his next venture - music. He dropped his debut single, We Living Life, with much fanfare at Nine 7 One, The Oberoi, Dubai on August 15. "We are making history," says Rashed. He cannot contain his excitement over the release of the track saying, "No one has done this kind of collaboration between Indian and Arab artistes rapping in English before. This is the first song featuring A-list Arab and Indian rappers. We Live Life represents the Middle East and India." We Live Life is a collective effort that involves some big names from America. "The song features Grammy-nominated artiste Fat Joe, Desiigner, Dyler, S1 besides Indian rapper Raftaar," says Rashed, who considers Fat Joe his mentor. "Fat Joe is like a father figure to me because he taught me about business and almost everything else. I would die for him. I have a lot of respect for him, his family and his crew," he says. Talking about how the song was conceptualised, Rashed says, "One day, I was sitting in a restaurant and I was listening to this song by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, and the refrain 'New York, New York' from Empire State Of Mind had me thinking. I told myself, 'There is no English song that talks about Dubai? So I have do something about it'. I wanted to make an anthem that represented Dubai, a song that represented the people here. So that's how the idea for the song came about." The young hip hop star is confident the song will be a hit. "Surely, it's a great song. People are already liking it (the song). Moreover, all the money that we're going to make from this song will go towards charity," he informs us. Message behind song The message behind We Living Life is to spread positivity and confidence. It encourages youngsters to have faith, power, and a high sense of self-esteem to develop into productive and courageous individuals. The music video of the song also showcases the stunning beauty of Dubai.
"I co-wrote the lyrics, did the vocals, co-produced and made all the arrangements for the track. We recorded the single in my friend's studio in Dubai. We also have a music video of the single coming up later this month. It features some iconic Dubai spots like the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Marina, Shaikh Zayed Road and other landmarks." However, producing music in Dubai is not easy, he says. "I am blessed to have a wonderful team to work with. There's S1 to help me out. It's not simple here (to make music), but we are working hard towards taking the music business in Dubai ahead." Next track Music lovers can listen to the song on Anghami. "They (Anghami) are our music partners and the biggest music distribution platform in the Middle East. So we will be releasing the song on that platform first. After that, it will be out on other platforms like Spotify, YouTube etc." Rashed is all charged up when asked if he plans to perform the song live. "Yes, of course (laughs), we are going to perform the song all over the world." And when asked when he plans to do that, "Hopefully, after today (laughs). I want to see this song going international, that's my goal. I'm not looking only at the GCC audience. I want to take We Living Life all over the world." Intriguingly, Rashed is already working on his next single, but he does not want to let out any details. "That's top-secret, we already have another song that we're working on. It's going to be a bigger and crazier song. This (We Living Life) is our first song so we are in still in the learning process. People have already loved our first effort so the next one is surely going to be much better." So does he have any plans to rope in his hip hop hero Jay-Z for one of his songs. "I would love to collaborate with Jay-Z one day. He's a legend and I love his music. You know Jay-Z is the biggest rap star out there. So surely I want to do a track with him. That's my dream," he concludes. On his musical taste Rashed has a distinctive playlist. "I listen to Fat Joe, J. Cole, Young Jeezy, Akon. You know, I watched Akon in concert when he came down here. I love going to concerts, I recently went to the US for SummerStage, it is New York's biggest concert which has an attendance of 90,000 people." But music is not his only passion, whenever he finds spare time, he indulges in his second love - soccer. "I love watching football. I am a huge supporter of Al Wasl Club, it's my favourite team. You know, I played for 8 years at Al Wasl Club." Rashed's advice to young followers "To succeed in business you must first build your contacts. Life is all about connections, I have been making new contacts ever since I was 14. Never give up and always be humble. Even if you are making lots of money, your attitude should not change. Money is not the most important thing in life. Always be with your family and never put your nose up." Sneaker appeal "My fascination for sneakers started when I was 14 years old. I did not want to depend on my father and wanted to do something on my own. I wanted to have my own business and make a name by myself. So that's how it all started for me. I worked hard and you can see the results now. Of course, I am very grateful to my father and mother who have supported me a lot and have always guided me." Favourite Ferrari Though Rashed has yet to acquire his driving license, he already owns a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. "I will be getting my Dubai driving license soon, in the next six months, then I will drive my Ferrari. It is my favourite car and I am going to buy more Ferraris (after starting to drive)." michael@khaleejtimes.com
Rashid Belhasa with Dyler and S1 and their music friends pose for a group photo at the launch of music
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