Bigg (rapper)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Bigg


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Taoufiq Hazeb ( _ar. توفيق حازب)
Alias = "Bigg", Alkhaser, Skizo, Tha Don
Born = 1983
Casablanca, Morocco
Died =
Origin = Morocco
Instrument = Vocals
Genre = Hip hop
Occupation = Rapper, producer
Years_active = 1997—present
Label =
Associated_acts = DJ Key
URL = [http://www.alkhaser.com/ www.alkhaser.com]

Taoufiq Hazeb ( _ar. توفيق حازب) (born in 1983) better known by his stage name Bigg and Alkhaser, is a Moroccan rapper from Casablanca. He is considered one of the pioneers of Moroccan rap, mainly for his aggressive style and for his songs' themes, which express problems within many of Moroccans.

Biography

Generalities

Born in 1983 in the "Roches Noires" neighborhood in Casablanca, Bigg grew up in a middle class family. Bigg studied in "Imam Malik" high school, and after receiving his Baccalauréat, he began to study Law in the Hassan II University in Mohammedia. He is currently studying the third year (where he could receive the licentiate).

Artistic career

From early childhood, Bigg was amazed by the American musical culture. He was highly interested in what was at that time east-coast west coast rap war. This influenced much his choice of his stage name. First, he went on by the name Bigg in reference to the Notorious B.I.G who was at that time the star of Bad Boy records. Even the last group he was in was called Mafia C which is a literal copy of Notorious B.I.G protegee. He eventually added another stage name, thus calling himself "Bigg Tha Don". This is a clear reference to Makaveli the Don which was the last name Tupac Shakur chose for his last Album : The 7 Day Theory. Bigg began his real musical career at age 14 by creating, with two friends, a rap group called "Thug Gang". At the age of 16, he went on stage for the first time, with his group, in the Sidi Belyout theater in Casablanca. He then joined the group Cash Money, then X-Side. Although he began rapping in English, he eventually had the idea to rap in Moroccan Arabic, also known as "Darija". He turned his idea into reality by creating a group called "Mafia-C", which participated to the Boulevard des jeunes musiciens festival in 2001 which was a total success after the group won "the best rap group" award. Having failed to get recognized by the Moroccan authorities as an artist, he tried to flee the country illegally. He was caught in Malaga and sent back home after spending two weeks in Spanish detention and deported later on. Once he got back to Morocco, he focused all his efforts on solo.

Bigg eventually quit the group and to start on a solo career. He participated in the Casablanca Festival in 2006. On April 2007, Bigg appeared on TV for the first time Fact|date=June 2007, exactly at "Al Aoula" channel, in "Al Aoula Show".

Bigg was also an integral part of the I Love Hip Hop in Morocco tour, which was a project of Joshua Asen, Fulbright Scholar, and then a documentary film by the same name, directed by Jennifer Needleman and Joshua Asen. www.ilovehiphopinmorocco.com

Discography

* "Mgharba 'Tal Mout (Moroccans 'Till Death)" (2006)
# "Intro"
# "Mgharba 'Tal Mout"
# "Âaqel"
# "Family Familia" (feat. Fnaïre)
# "Banda Hamra" (feat. Loubna)
# "6 Dqaïq Âlikoum "
# "Khellina Ghir Hna" (feat. Masta Flow & 9mm)
# "Sket"
# "Tgallia ḥbesse"
# "Âqliyya" (feat. DJ Key)
# "Bladi Blad" (feat. Colonel)
# "Gaâ Nass" (feat. Loubna)
# "Lgaʿ Lli Bḥalek" (feat. 9mm & Y-cine)
# "Interlude"
# "Hia"
# "Ma Bine Llil Ou Nhar" (feat. Caprice & Lotfi)
# "Marra Marra"
# "1983... 2006"
# "Mimti" (feat. Tizaf & Loubna)
# "Al Khouf"
# "Salute"
# "Waḥed Jouj" (feat. Muslim)
# "Skizo Friî" (feat. Skizo (Bigg's alter ego))
# "Outro"

References

"Much of the content of this article comes from [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigg the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article] , accessed May 30 2007."

See also

Internal links

* Moroccan music
* Moroccan rap
* Arabic hip hop

External links

* [http://www.lejournal-hebdo.com/sommaire/soci-t-/bigg-alias-al-khasser-rappeur-la-politique-on-l-aborde-soit-par-le-vote-soit-par-l.html Bigg, alias “Al Khasser”, rappeur: "La politique on l’aborde soit par le vote, soit par l’art"] , une interview de Bigg dans l'hebdomadaire marocain "Le Journal Hebdomadaire".
* [http://www.myspace.com/biggthadon/ MySpace page for Bigg]