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
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.