Qusai (musician)

Qusai Kheder (Arabic: قصي خضر‎, born 1978), known by the stage name Qusai, is a Saudi American hip hop artist, singer/songwriter, record producer, rapper, television personality, voice actor and DJ. He is the first professional Saudi hip hop artist.[1][2]

Qusai
Qusai live in concert at the Jeddah Ghair Summer Carnival, June 2008
Background information
Birth nameQusai Fouad Yousef Kheder
قصي فؤاد يوسف خضر
Also known asDon Legend, The Kamelion
Born (1978-05-21) May 21, 1978
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
OriginJeddah, Saudi Arabia
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, singer/songwriter, record producer, television personality, DJ, voice actor
Years active1993–present
LabelsiQ prod.
Associated actsSolillaquists of Sound, Fredwreck, D-Light, X:144, EirKkK, Run Junction, Abz, Outlaw, AbdulFattah Al-Graini, Bugsy The Puppeteer, AyZee Hawsawi. J-Fam
Websitewww.qusaimuziq.com

In addition to his music career, Qusai has appeared on television as the co-host of Hip Hop Na on MTV Arabia with hip-hop producer Fredwreck,[3][4] and as a co-host, with Raya Abirached, on MBC4's Arabs Got Talent.

Biography

Early years and early music career

Qusai Kheder was born in Riyadh and raised in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,[5] A fan of hip-hop since childhood, Kheder began performing and DJing at the age of 15.

At age 17 in 1996, Kheder moved to the United States to attend college, first to Vermont, and later to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.[6]

With the introduction of new partners, Eyesomnia Productions evolved into Eyesomnia Enterprises by 2004. Under the Eyesomnia label, Don Legend released two solo albums, and also recorded two EPs and a full album as part of the duo Urban Legacy with fellow MC D-Light. The track "Jeddah (My Hometown City)" from his first independent album, The Life of a Lost Soul, began a buzz for the artist in his hometown back in Saudi Arabia. Legend performed regularly at several performance venues and music events in the Orlando area during the early to mid-2000s.[1] He also performed in shows in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and other major US cities.[1]

Return to Saudi Arabia

Don Legend returned to Saudi Arabia in 2005, changing his stage name to Qusai and signing with Platinum Records, based in. His first album for Platinum was 2008's Don Legend the Kamelion, which sold over 20,000 copies in the Middle East and remained the number one album on the KSA Music Master charts for three consecutive weeks.[5] His second album, Experimental Edutainment (2010), sold 30,000 copies and was the number one album on the Virgin top albums chart in the Persian Gulf region for four consecutive weeks. These sales were achieved without international distribution or online sales.[5]

Qusai records and performs in both Arabic and English. Two of his singles, "The Wedding" (2008) and "The Job" (2010) have been number-one songs on Wanasah's Top 10 list and on 103 MBC FM. In (May 3, 2014) he came up with a new song "Dream" feat Anas Arabi, who associated with a songwriter "Baker Sanusi", a member of the "Sony Music Entertainment". The video for Qusai's single "Mother" premiered on the MBC television network to coincide with Mother's Day (March 21) in 2009.[7] Qusai continues to perform throughout Europe and the Middle East.[4]

Television

In addition to his music, Qusai began working in television as well. He and fellow Arabic hip hop artist Fredwreck hosted Hip Hop Na (Our Hip-Hop), a hip-hop talent search contest show, for MTV Arabia in 2007.[4]Hip Hop Na became the first Arabic hip-hop show and the flagship show for MTV Arabia.[3] In 2009, Qusai and Fredwreck began hosting Beit el Hip Hop (The House of Hip-Hop) on Wanasah TV. On January 14, 2011, Qusai began appearing as the co-host, with Raya Abi Rached, of Arabs Got Talent on MBC4. And also in (2011) was his first stage show in "Dubai" with "Anas Arabi".[8] He also sang with many singers like Ludacris, Akon, Karl Wolf and others.

Discography

Major label releases
  • Don Legend the Kamelion (2008)
  • Experimental Edutainment (2010)
  • The Inevitable Change (2012)
  • "BassLine ep" (2016)
  • "Saudi ep" (2017)

Singles and music videos
  • 2008: "The Wedding"
  • 2008: "Hayo Al-Saudi"
  • 2009: "That's Life"
  • 2009: "Mother"
  • 2010: "The Job"
  • 2010: "Any Given Day"
  • 2010: "Father"
  • 2011: "Everyone Can Play"
  • 2012: "Yalla"
  • 2012: "Change"
  • 2013: "Eve"
  • 2013: "Arab World Unite"
  • 2014: "Dream", "I'm Cool"
  • 2015: "Umm El-Dunia"
  • 2016: "Gone"
  • 2017: "All the way"
  • 2017: "Saudi"
  • 2018: "Get Lost"
  • 2018: "The Teacher"

TV Commercials
  • PepsiCo / Zain Telecom / Chrysler / Souk.com

Qusai also voiced Chester Cheetah in the Arabic version of the Cheetos ad "Flamin' Hot Diss Track", which aired on March 11, 2020.

Television work
Year Work Channel
2007 Hip Hop Na MTV Arabia
2009 Beit el Hip Hop Wanasah TV
2011 Arabs Got Talent MBC4
2012 Arabs Got Talent 2 MBC4
Arabs Got Talent 3 MBC4
2014 Arabs Got Talent 4 MBC4

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Bilal: A New Breed of Hero Bilal ibn Rabah Arabic version
2018 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Stan Arabic version
2019 Spies in Disguise Lance Sterling Arabic version

Video Games
Video Game
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Tom Clancy's The Division Paul Rhodes Arabic version
gollark: I think the concept of phones is good anyway. I just don't agree with current design trends. At all.
gollark: I mean, they have issues, but I think phones are generally good.Also, it's hardly him who caused it...
gollark: ...
gollark: "These are cool and I have purchased one"?
gollark: "I'm still using my 15-year-old prototype"?

References
  1. Dahlawia, Faizal (May 2010). "Making Hip-Hop History". Arabian Man.
  2. (April 8, 2010). "Top Arab hip hop artist to perform at AUD Idol on tonight" [Press release].
  3. (October 22, 2007). "The Arab World Wants Its MTV". Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
  4. Alosaimi, Najah. (May 6, 2008). "Saudi Rapper Gives Hip-Hop a Hejazi Twist". ArabNews.com
  5. (April 29, 2008). "Qusai and Jeddah Legends - The Wedding". 50 Ctotnhkn
  6. "Qusai (Saudi Arabia/Florida)". Hip Hop Diplomacy
  7. Sharawi, Mohannad (2009). "Saudi rap song released to mark Mother’s Day". The Saudi Gazette.
  8. (January 11, 2011). "And now, Arabia's got talent hits TV screens".
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