London, Ont. 'dabke' dance group performs for rapper Drake's birthday
A Middle Eastern 'dabke' dance group landed a gig of a lifetime when they were asked to perform at a birthday bash for a multi-platinum, award-winning artist in Toronto.
“I was just like 'Oh my God, this is insane,'” Omar Hassouneh says as he recalls his reaction when he found out he’d be performing for a high-profile celebrity.
Omar is a member of the Palestinian-Canadian Al-Asala Dabke Group based in London, Ont..
The group was is well-known for performing traditional Arab Dabkeh and Zaffeh, a combination of singing and drumming, at large events and weddings.
Last weekend, five of their members had the chance to showcase their talent at a private birthday party for Canadian rapper Drake.
The group was contacted and booked through Instagram to perform at Drake’s home in Toronto.
“So we walk in and we all kind of got shook for a second, we just stood there, and we said well Drake is right in front us, let’s try to remember what we came up with and so we performed right there, in his kitchen in his house,” said Hassouneh.
"It was pretty awesome, he was a very genuine and humble guy,” said group member Wasef Yasin.
Although this was their first celebrity gig, the Al-Asala Dabke Group, which has more than 25 members, has been performing various events and weddings for the past 14 years.
“It’s been passed down through different generations of guys -- and now it’s us, it’s our time to shine,” said Al-Asala Dabke Group Manager Omar Barzak.
And shine they did. The video of their performance for ‘Champagne Papi’s’ 35th birthday went viral on social media, with over 3.9-million views on TikTok.
“It was really awesome to meet him, especially growing up we all listened to his music. I still remember walking to school just and jamming out to Drake, and being able to actually meet him and sing him happy birthday -- it was just an amazing experience,” said Yasin.
Although most of the group members grew up in Canada, they enjoy going back to their Arab roots and mixing the two cultures together in some of their performances.
“We like to do it with a little bit of a twist, we like to mesh both cultures together and almost, you know, create a new culture. That North American-Arab identity, which we love, and it’s something that we love expressing,” said Yasin.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.