Two voices, one song

With two very different voices, DD Foxx and Abdallah Bel Kheir have a very simple message for the world through their collaboration

Music has been commonly acknowledged as a universal language. With the power to move us without words or words that we might not understand, songs have always been used to tell stories and advocate change.
For the multi talented singer and song writer DD Foxx based in Dubai, sending a message to the world in the form of a song was beyond her wildest dreams when she first started singing at 13.
"My family never knew I sang until I started recording. I always kept it a secret," she says with a coy smile as she readjusts her cap which is bejewelled with silver spikes. "I don't know, I felt like it was kind of personal. It was just something for me. Everything I sang, my feelings, I just kept it personal. My sister kind of knew. But nobody else."
Since her formative years as a shy singer with a big dream, DD Foxx has accomplished a lot over the last couple of years. Her debut album Had To Be Me was released through Virgin Megastores, and was ranked #3 in the Urban & Pop genre of the Top 20 Best Selling Albums by U.A.E. Artists in the past 10 years. DD Foxx along with her team has also formed an independent record label and media company, 971 Entertainment Group Inc., a joint venture with a North American partnership.
For a young artist, her sound is still developing but expect to find a helping of all the commercial ingredients we love to hear and dance to in contemporary pop.
"I think what influences me musically is a mixture of different music. I started listening to music when I moved here (the UAE) because growing up in Saudi Arabia we didn't have many avenues and access to music. So I honestly really started listening to it here. The first tape my dad got me was Madonna. I never saw Madonna live or on television. It was just a picture on the tape. It was the La Isla Bonita single."
Whether it's pop, dance, R&B, rap or funk with a Middle Eastern flavour, DD Foxx hasn't been shy about mixing different genres to express what she wants to say. And she's taken that one step further in her first single of 2016, Crazy World, which features Emirati singer Abdallah Bel Kheir.
The legendary singer is a household name and the collaboration between him and a young singer might seem confusing at first. However the result is a melodic harmony where contrasts are complementary and the message is clear.
Written by DD Foxx years ago, the song never felt complete to her until the collaboration with Abdallah. As soon as Arabic was added to the song everything else just seemed to fall into place.
"We wanted to appeal to the West and East, Arabic and English. It was really important," DD Foxx says, "I think it was meant to be that I didn't finish the song initially. That part was meant to come in Arabic to complete it and I don't think I would have found any better match than Abdullah to complete it."
City Times caught up with the two singers to discuss the process of recording Crazy World, what they learnt from each other, and how music really is a vessel for change and peace.
How did this collaboration come about?
Abdallah: The idea came up by chance. It is a lovely idea. Crazy World is an emotional song that gifts peace to the world and touches on issues of peace. I liked the idea, which was executed in two languages: English for foreigners and Arabic for the Arab people. I agreed on the idea and sang my part of the song. We hardly knew each other, but I was impressed by the idea and content of the song.
DD Foxx: My management met his team by coincidence, they were planning to work on other things. Then one day when I was in the studio recording, they visited us and my producer suggested, they listen to the track and tell us what they think. He (Abdallah) loved it. I had the track, we worked on it but it wasn't complete that's why I didn't put it out. It wasn't the right time so I just left it there.
Then he heard it and we thought 'why don't we add a little bit of Arabic to it?' Because this song is a message to the world so why don't we combine English and Arabic cause we don't want to only focus on the West or the East. He was really open to the idea and like me, he's open to try new and different things. So when he tried it, honestly it was magical. Our tones matched on the track and it was just like magic. It worked.
You both come from very different genres of music and between you, your listeners are very diverse. How did you both find the experience of recording a song together and mixing your different styles?
DD Foxx: Listen, music gets together at one point. No matter how different you are, no matter what age it is, it doesn't matter. Music always meets at the same point.
It was an amazing experience, he is wonderful, he is so humble, down to earth. I mean the minute he walked in we just clicked. So it didn't matter what age, what culture what background. We just clicked. This is how it worked.
Abdullah: In fact, things were simple and went smoothly although we had only recently met. We sat down and discussed the lyrics, then went to the studio and sang together.
What did you learn from each other during this process?
DD Foxx: It was an interesting experience. I loved his rhythm, he was able to go with our beats even though he was singing in Arabic. His rhythm is impeccable, it's unbelievably amazing.
That's something I learnt, how he was working with it and listening to his melodies. It was just a great experience.
Abdallah: I actually learnt from the idea and the experience as a whole rather than from DD Foxx, personally. We wanted to convey a message to the world and to art lovers.
She sings in English and I sing in Arabic, so the idea is nice and unique. What I liked most about DD is her dynamism and the idea she developed in writing. Her song gifts peace and pays tribute to the world. When they suggested that I take part in this production, I saw simplicity, beauty, and highly professional work on their part.
Tell us more about Crazy World, where did the idea come from? What is the song about?
DD Foxx: What triggered the idea to write Crazy World for me is all the painful tragedies that we see happening around the world, and here in this side of the world, in the news everyday. People dying, losing their houses, families are homeless, poverty, discrimination, conflict of religion, racism, everything that we are seeing that's going around and destroying our world and destroying societies.
This is what triggered me to start writing the song. I started writing it years ago, not recently, and I just had a pile of sheets, so many, so many . . . it was so difficult to narrow it down, but me and my producer managed to get straight to the point. It's a simple message to the world. Me and Abdallah are saying to the people who are suffering - we do hear you, we do feel you and this is a message from us to the world, hoping for change to happen. Hoping for action to happen.
Abdallah: When they played the song, it talked about the wars, destruction, and conflicts happening in the world. DD wakes up to see wars, destruction, killing and displacement on the television and media. The idea we seek to convey is that God forbade us from these things that are taking place around us and we should not commit them. We have to remember that God is the one who created us, sent the book, and ordered us in the book to live in peace and safety.
So you think that music can be a catalyst for social change and awareness?
DD Foxx: Definitely. Music is the most emotional method of delivering a message. That's why you see some people crying when they hear a song or really happy when they hear a song. You feel a change in the chemicals in your brain. So definitely it's the best way, there's no way better. Music touches people.
Abdallah: Music is a science and a language with a universal spirit. Music soothes the soul and nerves and has many functions. Music is universal. It is a language, science, art, and a beautiful message on which the whole world converges.
Each country has its own mother tongue, but music is one language common to the whole world. Anyone is delighted to hear music and interacts with it without the need to understand the meaning of words.
What are your plans for 2016?
Abdallah: We started this year with this song and I hope that our inspiring message reaches and spreads out across the world. We can see the Arab world and the major problems it is suffering from. We hope to see these problems disappear. This song mirrors us, as Arabs, and as people and artists. We love peace, express it, and sing about it. We ask the world to help and sing with us for peace. I recently finished recording a new album called the Mona Lisa, which will be released soon in markets. I postponed its release for a while until I finish recording and filming Crazy World.
DD Fox: We are very busy - I don't sleep much (laughs). My plan first is - I really want Crazy World to spread as much as possible. I want to be heard, so I really hope me and Abdallah get to perform it in every continent... this is what I want right now and it doesn't just stay here and I want to take Crazy World outside.
I really want to build that relationship with people through my music because when people hear your music, they feel you and they understand you. That's how you build that strong relationship and you grow that relationship through your music.