R.G.B.

Everything began in Beirut. Born in 1980 in a family of humble origin, RGB, whose real name is Rajab Abdul Rahman, spent his time roaming the streets of Basta, a popular Muslim area of the Lebanese capital. He dropped out of school at 11 and worked in few minor jobs. Meanwhile he presented roller demonstrations. At one of these events in 1995, RGB met Waldo, a young man from his neighborhood. Waldo, who raps in English, introduced him to the Beat Box.

With Waldo, RGB met other rappers like Billy Boy, also in the district of Basta. They later joined Banelli, a rapper who sings R&B in Arabic in Ashrafieh, the opposite Christian quarter, and created their first Crew: Secteur B (B for Beirut). At 17, RGB stopped work to devote himself to rap.

With the Crew, he organized free street rap concerts for the neighborhood.

Secteur B then took an Arabic name Kitaa Beirut (Beirut Sector) with the joining in 1999 of new members: 6K, MC Stress and MC Joker.

Kitaa B became a street movement. In a parking lot, the band members played soccer and rugby. They enjoyed Beatbox and Freestyle, complained about life and had a few run-ins with the police who were keeping an eye on this group of young people in caps hanging around the streets and making noise.

The Crew wrote songs in Arabic and performed in more important events: The Music Festival, the Francophone Summit, and others. The song “Bi siret el mousika” (speaking of music) made the band and its furious energy known in the Lebanese underground scene.

Taking advantage of a trip to France in 2002, the original Crew decides to withdraw. RGB, 6K, Banelli and Waldo sought asylum in France… in vain. The 4 rappers then moved between Toulouse, Montpellier, Lyon and Paris. Homeless, RGB went from squat to squat, participated in Open Mic events in the suburbs of major cities and discovered the French Rap and Hip Hop scene.

In 2005, he decided to return to Lebanon with 6K. Once in Lebanon, they re-launched a band “Kita’youn” (Boys of the Sector) with MC Stress and MC Joker.

With the collaboration of Zeid Hamdan, a former producer and composer of the electronic group Soap Kills, Kita’youn performed in Beirut in concerts that progressively attracted public from different backgrounds. In 2006, RGB decided to make a solo album. He recorded with Hamdan 6 demo songs, some of which were chosen to be the basis of the album Blacklisted. The songs were 6 pamphlets against corruption, idleness and the powerlessness of young people in the streets: “Nafs el Mouwel” (The same old story), “Kitaa Aassekir “(Soldiers of the Sector),” Bi Kilmet Yareit “(Regrets), “Sawra” (Revolution).

In 2007 RGB got in contact with the production company LCI Entertainment at a concert held in Jordan for the benefit of the Lebanese war refugees. He also joined DJ Lethal Skillz, a well-known Producer and DJ in the Lebanese and Arab underground scene.

With Malika, one of the few female rappers of the Arab world, returning from Canada, MC Moe, an English-speaking rapper returning from Nigeria, and 6K, they formed 961 Underground. The Crew left its mark through several “Featurings” in some parts of the album.