Qusai Kheder ( ar, قصي خضر, born 1978), known by the stage name Qusai, is a

Saudi American Saudi Americans ( ar, سعوديون أمريكيون lit. ''So’odioon Amricioon'') are Americans of total or partial Saudi descent. According to the 2000 census, 7,419 people of Saudi origin were living in the United States of America (USA). I ...

hip hop artist, singer/songwriter, record producer, rapper, television personality, voice actor and DJ. He is the first professional Saudi hip hop artist.Dahlawia, Faizal (May 2010).
Making Hip-Hop History
. ''Arabian Man''.(April 8, 2010).

ress release In addition to his music career, Qusai has appeared on television as the co-host of ''

Hip Hop Na ''Hip Hop Na'', literally meaning "''Our Hip Hop''" in Arabic, is a hip hop talent-hunting programme that aired on MTV Arabia in 2007. It was hosted by Fredwreck Nassar & Qusai Kheder. The show held auditions in various countries in the Middle Ea ...

'' on

MTV Arabia MTV Middle East, formerly MTV Arabia, was a free-to-air music television channel, and the Middle Eastern incarnation of MTV. As an addition to the MTV network, it was a joint venture between MTV Networks International and Arabian Television Net ...

with hip-hop producer

Fredwreck Farid Karam Nassar (born June 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded r ...

, and as a co-host, with

Raya Abirached Raya Abirached ( ar, ريا أبي راشد, born 12 May 1977) is a Lebanese TV presenter and celebrity journalist at MBC. She is best known for co-hosting the hit TV talent show, Arabs Got Talent. She also hosts ''Scoop with Raya'', a sho ...

, on MBC4's '' Arabs Got Talent''.

Biography

Early years and early music career

Qusai Kheder was born in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

and raised in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.(April 29, 2008).
Qusai and Jeddah Legends - The Wedding
. ''50 Ctotnhkn'' A fan of hip-hop since childhood, Kheder began performing and DJing at the age of 15. At age 17 in 1996, Kheder moved to the United States to attend college, first to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and later to the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in Orlando, Florida. With the introduction of new partners, Eyesomnia Productions evolved into Eyesomnia Enterprises by 2004. Under the Eyesomnia label, Don Legend released two solo albums, and also recorded two EPs and a full album as part of the duo Urban Legacy with fellow MC D-Light. The track "Jeddah (My Hometown City)" from his first independent album, ''The Life of a Lost Soul'', began a buzz for the artist in his hometown back in Saudi Arabia. Legend performed regularly at several performance venues and music events in the Orlando area during the early to mid-2000s. He also performed in shows in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and other major US cities.

Return to Saudi Arabia

Don Legend returned to Saudi Arabia in 2005, changing his stage name to Qusai and signing with Platinum Records, based in. His first album for Platinum was 2008's ''Don Legend the Kamelion'', which sold over 20,000 copies in the Middle East and remained the number one album on the KSA Music Master charts for three consecutive weeks. His second album, ''Experimental Edutainment'' (2010), sold 30,000 copies and was the number one album on the Virgin top albums chart in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region for four consecutive weeks. These sales were achieved without international distribution or online sales. Qusai records and performs in both Arabic and English. Two of his singles, "The Wedding" (2008) and "The Job" (2010) have been number-one songs on Wanasah's Top 10 list and on 103 MBC FM. In (May 3, 2014) he came up with a new song "Dream" feat Anas Arabi, who associated with a songwriter "Baker Sanusi", a member of the "Sony Music Entertainment". The video for Qusai's single, "Mother", premiered on the MBC television network to coincide with Mother's Day (March 21) in 2009.Sharawi, Mohannad (2009).
Saudi rap song released to mark Mother’s Day
. ''The Saudi Gazette''. Qusai continues to perform throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Television

In addition to his music, Qusai began working in television as well. He and fellow Arabic hip hop artist

hosted ''

'' (''Our Hip-Hop''), a hip-hop talent search contest show, for

in 2007.Alosaimi, Najah. (May 6, 2008).
Saudi Rapper Gives Hip-Hop a Hejazi Twist
. ''ArabNews.com''''Hip Hop Na'' became the first Arabic hip-hop show and the flagship show for MTV Arabia.(October 22, 2007).

. ''

Bloomberg BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''. In 2009, Qusai and Fredwreck began hosting ''Beit el Hip Hop'' (''The House of Hip-Hop'') on Wanasah TV. On January 14, 2011, Qusai began appearing as the co-host, with Raya Abi Rached, of '' Arabs Got Talent'' on MBC4. In (2011) also, he hosted his first stage show in "Dubai" with "Anas Arabi".(January 11, 2011).
And now, Arabia's got talent hits TV screens
. He also sang with many singers like

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

Karl Wolf Carl Abou Samah ( ar, كارل أبو سمح; born April 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Karl Wolf, is a Lebanese-Canadian musician based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has been a singer, songwriter, and producer since 2001, releasing ...

and others.

Discography

Major label releases

*''Don Legend the Kamelion'' (2008) *''Experimental Edutainment'' (2010) *''The Inevitable Change'' (2012) * "BassLine ep" (2016) * "Saudi ep" (2017)

Singles and music videos

*2008: "The Wedding" *2008: "Hayo Al-Saudi" *2009: "That's Life" *2009: "Mother" *2010: "The Job" *2010: "Any Given Day" *2010: "Father" *2011: "Everyone Can Play" *2012: "Yalla" *2012: "Change" *2013: "Eve" *2013: "Arab World Unite" *2014: "Dream", "I'm Cool" *2015: "Umm El-Dunia" *2016: "Gone" *2017: "All the way" *2017: "Saudi" *2018: "Get Lost" *2018: "The Teacher" *2019: "Kan Yama Kan" *2019: "Heat it up" *2020: "My time" *2020: "Dar Dyali"

TV Commercials

*PepsiCo / Zain Telecom / Chrysler / Souk.com / Hyundai / OMO Qusai also voiced Chester Cheetah in the Arabic version of the Cheetos ad "Flamin' Hot Diss Track", which aired on March 11, 2020.

Television work

Filmography

Video Games

References

External links

Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qusai Living people 1978 births Hip hop record producers 21st-century Saudi Arabian male singers People from Jeddah Saudi Arabian hip hop University of Central Florida alumni Saudi Arabian male film actors Saudi Arabian male television actors