By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    architecture House Zero in Austin, Texas, is a 2,000-square-foot home that was built with 3D-printed concrete. Lake Flato Architects
    3D printing promises to transform architecture forever – and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water
    April 2, 2023
    CBE considers raising banks' reserve requirement
    Central Bank of Egypt considers raising banks’ reserve requirement
    April 1, 2023
    Banks discuss amending interest rates on their savings, loan products
    Banks discuss amending interest rates on their savings, loan products
    April 1, 2023
    Egypt, EU discuss cooperation in economy, migration
    Egypt, EU discuss cooperation in economy, migration
    April 1, 2023
    Hermes Brokerage tightens its grip on EGX trading in 1Q 2023
    Hermes Brokerage tightens its grip on EGX trading in 1Q 2023
    April 1, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Egyptian president Sisi says fight against terrorism not less significant than Egypt's October War victory
    Egyptian president says fight against terrorism not less significant than October War victory
    April 2, 2023
    Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
    Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
    April 2, 2023
    Ramadan fasting is related with leniency in legal system: Study
    Ramadan fasting is related with leniency in legal system: Study
    April 1, 2023
    Egypt renews its support for comprehensive political settlement in Syria: Shoukry
    Egypt renews its support for comprehensive political settlement in Syria: Shoukry
    April 1, 2023
    Ugandan president says peacekeepers will help stabilize eastern DR Congo
    Ugandan president says peacekeepers will help stabilize eastern DR Congo
    March 31, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Developers have to offer innovative products, state should provide more facilities to stimulate industry: Kareem Mamoun
    Developers have to offer innovative products, state should provide more facilities to stimulate industry: Kareem Mamoun
    March 27, 2023
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    March 15, 2023
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    March 12, 2023
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    February 15, 2023
    British International Investment invests $4.5bn in 700 businesses across Africa: Sherine Shohdy
    February 15, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Alcohol? Meth? No, High On Body Fat
Share
Notification
Latest News
architecture House Zero in Austin, Texas, is a 2,000-square-foot home that was built with 3D-printed concrete. Lake Flato Architects
3D printing promises to transform architecture forever – and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water
Real Estate Culture
Succession recap: season 4, episode 1, "The Munsters"
Succession season 4: Powerhouse ensemble drama masterfully sets up series finale in first episode
Lifestyle
Egyptian president Sisi says fight against terrorism not less significant than Egypt's October War victory
Egyptian president says fight against terrorism not less significant than October War victory
Politics Egypt
Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
Egypt Politics
The Secret Behind Lobna Wanas’ Younger Appearance in “Jaafar El Omda”
Cinema Egypt
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Culture > Alcohol? Meth? No, High On Body Fat
Culture

Alcohol? Meth? No, High On Body Fat

Ahmed Khalifa
Last updated: 2012/06/21 at 8:36 PM
By Ahmed Khalifa 7 Min Read
Share
Ahmed Safi el-Din and Marwan Imam - Photo by Hassam Ibrahim
Ahmed Safi el-Din and Marwan Imam - Photo by Hassam Ibrahim
SHARE
Ahmed Safi el-Din and Marwan Imam - Photo by Hassam Ibrahim
Ahmed Safi el-Din and Marwan Imam – Photo by Hassam Ibrahim

 

You cock your ears and listen. There’s no question about it, the guitar riffs are definitely from the Eagles’ hit Hotel California. But there must be some mistake. Instead of Don Henley crooning about a ghostly hotel, some guy is singing—very beautifully, actually—in Arabic. About a lady called Aunt Samia teaching a group of donkeys to play guitar, no less.

Welcome to the whimsical world of musical comedy.

Ahmed Safi el-Din and Marwan Imam are High on Body Fat, a musical comedy duo hailing from our very own Cairo, whose distinctive style involves parodying popular songs—such as Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance—and replacing the lyrics with humorous Arabic or English ones.

Having earned their stripes doing bookstore gigs and small shows, the two friends have ramped up their performances as of late, performing in Germany last March and storming into the finalist rounds of season two of Arabs Got Talent, the acclaimed Arab adaptation of the talent show franchise.

Upon meeting them, it is immediately apparent why, among all Cairo’s music enthusiasts, Safi and Marwan made it this far. Though they both have clearly distinct personalities, they possess a degree of synchronization of thought and speech usually only found in twins.

With hilarious, well-crafted songs that expertly incorporate everything from politics to moustaches and aubergines, one would think the dynamic duo spent hours meticulously writing and rewriting every word to ensure the lyrics were perfect. Not so. True to their name, the band simply gets high on body fat and writes.

“We stay up as late as we can, stuff our faces with Twinkies and the songs just write themselves. Most of them get done in three or four hours.” says Safi of their creative process.

“When the synapses stop firing, that’s when the magic happens,” adds Marwan.

When asked about how they were doing in relation to the other participants in “Arabs Got Talent”, the duo seemed worried but optimistic.

“The competition is a lot stronger than last year” says Marwan, “but we’ve got the edge of basically having two acts, music and comedy. That’s one more than anyone else has.”

“They’ve got a girl who can beatbox with a flute!” Safi says in mock outrage, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

Confirming Marwan’s story is last year’s winner, an Egyptian called Amr Katamish who recited humorous poetry, showing that unlike the show’s American counterpart, music alone is not necessarily the dominant performance type.

With regards to their future, Marwan and Safi seem less than preoccupied with the outcome of the show. Win or lose, they say that they plan to keep making music and expanding their artistic endeavours.

“We want to move away from just parodies. We’ve written a couple of originals. One’s about the menstrual cycle. You probably don’t want to hear that” says Marwan, “but we also did a short movie and we want to experiment with different sounds and techniques.”

With their unique pedigree of musical caricatures and meaningful messages, the band certainly has a good chance of making the finals of Arabs Got Talent. Their next performance will be on 22 June in Lebanon, and will be broadcast live to the rest of the Arab world.

“We’re just sad Shafiq [presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq] stopped wearing his famous sweater” says Safi with pseudo-regret as we stand up to leave, “that part of the song always got us a few laughs.”

Reality television has never played an integral role in Egyptian mass media. We prefer, or used to at any rate, to follow our soaps and Ramadan series, losing ourselves in the lives of fictional and far more interesting people.

In recent years, however, musical reality television programmes such as Arab Idol and Star Academy have experienced a huge surge in popularity. Fierce rallying behind favourites has always characterized the Egyptian sports scene, and now this phenomenon has spilled over into these shows. Lara Scandar, an Egyptian contestant on Star Academy 6 who ended up in fifth place, was greeted by roaring crowds on her return. Her Facebook page boasts almost 250,000 fans, and more than a few declarations of undying love and devotion.

“I remember being in utter shock. I didn’t really grasp the concept until I had a minute to myself” says Lara, “I just didn’t know how to believe that all these people were there for me, holding the Egyptian flag and screaming my name.”

So what can possibly explain the popularity of these once-alien programmes? Perhaps it is the novelty of seeing people on screen who aren’t politicians or lawyers. Perhaps it is the raw freedom of a normal person with a microphone on live television that we find so liberating. Perhaps it is even a belated acceptance and fostering of the arts in a society where practicality has become valued over creativity.

Regardless of the motives, High on Body Fat has given us a figure to rally behind. Or to be precise two, rather stout, figures. Watch them performing live in Lebanon and be sure to have a plate of Twinkies on hand, just in case inspiration strikes.

You Might Also Like

3D printing promises to transform architecture forever – and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water

Cairo Opera hosts Chopin Piano Competition for children, youth

Meet Yehia Abouseif: Artist & designer hailing from Cairo and now based in New York

Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023

Toyin Falola: 3 recent books that explain the work of Nigeria’s famous decolonial scholar

TAGGED: arabs got talent, comedy, high on body fat, music
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
By Ahmed Khalifa
Ahmed Khalifa is a work in progress.
Previous Article Amr Moussa: “We have to give the new president the benefit of the doubt”
Next Article Scepticism over voter turnout
1 Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

architecture House Zero in Austin, Texas, is a 2,000-square-foot home that was built with 3D-printed concrete. Lake Flato Architects
3D printing promises to transform architecture forever – and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water
Real Estate Culture
Succession recap: season 4, episode 1, "The Munsters"
Succession season 4: Powerhouse ensemble drama masterfully sets up series finale in first episode
Lifestyle
Egyptian president Sisi says fight against terrorism not less significant than Egypt's October War victory
Egyptian president says fight against terrorism not less significant than October War victory
Politics Egypt
Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
Syrian FM visits Egypt for 1st time in over 10 years
Egypt Politics
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?