Karpe (previously known as Karpe Diem between 2000 and 2018) is a
Norwegian rap group from
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, consisting of Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid (b. 1984) and Chirag Rashmikant Patel (b. 1984).
Biography
Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, of mixed Egyptian/Norwegian origin, was born on 3 June 1984 in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
to an Egyptian father and a Norwegian mother from
Stryn
Stryn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the vi ...
,
Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...
. Chirag Rashmikant Patel, of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n origin, was born on 20 July 1984 in
Lørenskog
is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipa ...
. His Indian father immigrated from
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
and Chirag grew up in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
. His mother originates from
Anand,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Magdi and Chirag first met in 1998 in the
Oslo Handelsgymnasium, where they were both studying and making music individually. The duo was formed in 2000.
The duo has released five albums, four EPs and won a number of awards, including seven
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
awards.
Career
2004–2016
Karpe's debut release, ''Glasskår EP'' in 2004, was a commercial success, and the titular single "Glasskår" peaked at No. 9 on
VG-lista
VG-lista is the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from Norwegian and international artists. It is presented weekly in the newspaper ''Verdens Gang, VG''. The data is collected by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Soundscan Inte ...
, the Norwegian Albums Chart, becoming
certified Gold after remaining on the chart for 6 weeks. Their debut studio album was ''Rett fra hjertet'', released in 2006. It reached No. 10 on VG-lista and sold 18,000 copies. The band got nominated for "Best Album" in Spellemannprisen in 2006 and won the Norwegian Alarmprisen in 2007. Their 2008 album ''Fire Vegger'' was an even bigger success. The album sold more than 30,000 copies and reached No. 3 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. ''Aldri solgt en løgn'', their third and biggest album, topped the Norwegian charts and won them the prestigious Spellemannprisen award as "Best Hip Hop album", with the single "Ruter" winning "Best hit of the year". Other accolades for the album included the official Bendiksenprisen award, Sigval Bergesen d.y.'s honorary "Almennyttige Ærespris" award and international recognition as "Best Norwegian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards in 2010. They were once again the recipients of
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
2012 in the category Pop music, for the album ''Kors på halsen,'' ''ti kniver i hjertet, mor og far i døden''. In November 2013 Karpe received the P3 award on the P3 radio station's first music award show, P3 Gull at Sentrum Scene in Oslo.
In October 2015, they launched a brand new musical project called ''Heisann Montebello''. Nine songs were released over two years, each one with their own ambitious music video. The project was awarded the
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
2016 in the categories Best Urban Act and Album of the Year. They were even nominated in the categories Best Songwriter and Best Music Video for "Den islamske elefanten", directed by Thea Hvistendahl.
The Monkey & The Mouth
The duo went on a Norway tour before they announced that they would play three shows at the Oslo Spektrum Arena in April 2017. All 27,000 tickets were sold in a matter of hours. The three shows turned out to be the core of "The Monkey & The Mouth", a full-length experimental movie directed by
Thea Hvistendahl. It was viewed by 52,000 people during its limited four-day theatrical release in December 2017, and revolves around the visual and musical universe created by the band. The music videos for "Heisann Montebello" introduced two characters: The Monkey (Chirag/Entertainment) and the Mouth (Magdi/Art).
The film is a fusion of concert and fiction that together constitutes a "never before seen" hybrid of music video/live-concert/fiction film. "The Monkey and The Mouth" was awarded the
Amanda award
The Amanda Award () is an award given annually at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, to promote and improve Norwegian film. The award originated in 1985, and has since 2005 been exclusively a film award (not telev ...
2018 and the Kanonprisen at the Norwegian Kosmorama Film Festival in the Production Design category. It was also part of the official selection at the
Tallinn Film Festival 2018,
CPH PIX Film Festival,
Gothenburg Film Festival
Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the large ...
2018 and it is appointed critics choice at
Tromsø International Film Festival 2019.
2019–
In 2019 they released the EP
Sas Plus/Sas Pussy. The EP was released as one 29 minutes and 47 seconds long track. They were rewarded Spellemannprisen 2019 in the category Album of the year for their efforts. In addition to this, they were nominated in the categories Urban and Songwriter of the year. In December 2019 they made two huge and very different announcements. They announced ten shows in
Oslo Spektrum Arena in August 2021 (postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic), and at the same time they invited 100 lucky fans to an experience called SAS Skien. SAS Skien took place in Festiviteten in the town of Skien, Norway – a historical building with a total of 114 rooms that Karpe bought in 2018.
Everyone that bought a ticket to one of the concerts in Oslo Spektrum, could apply to be part of a one of a kind experience in the mysterious house. In October 2020 a total of 100 fans were invited into Festiviteten in Skien – 20 people each night, for five nights. The details surrounding the experience were kept secret. Media was not allowed inside and all the guests had to leave their cellphones at the door.
August 17, 2020 Karpe established the Patel & Abdelmaguid Foundation. In doing so they gave away their master rights and revenue from all of their previous releases, six studio albums and various EPs and singles, to causes relating to assistance for refugees, asylum seekers or immigrants. There are no specific requirements set for the size or catchment area of the projects that receive funds. Both worldwide projects and small local projects are eligible, as long as its work is carried out in accordance with the Fund’s overarching objectives. The first fund allocation took place in October 2021.
In January 2022, they released the film loop Omar Sheriff, and with it presented their new EP.
In August 2022, Karpe sold out
Oslo Spektrum
Oslo Spektrum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in east central Oslo, Norway, that opened in December 1990. It is currently owned and operated by Nova Spektrum, formerly Norges Varemesse. Oslo Spektrum is primarily known for hosting major e ...
10 times, with a total of 110,000 attendees. The show reached
Variety magazine, which compared the duo to
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
and
The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
.
Awards
*2008:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Hip hop", for the album ''Fire Vegger''
*2010:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "
Spellemann of the Year"
*2012:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Pop music", for the album ''Kors på halsen, Ti kniver i hjertet, Mor og Far i døden''
*2013:
P3 Gull
''P3 Gull'' (in ) is a music show and an award ceremony organized by the Norway, Norwegian radio station NRK P3. P3 Gold was first held on 29 November 2013 at Sentrum Scene in Oslo, offering awards in four categories: "Newcomer of the Year" (''År ...
in the category "P3 Prize"
*2015:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Best music video" for the single "Hvite menn som pusher 50"
*2016:
P3 Gull
''P3 Gull'' (in ) is a music show and an award ceremony organized by the Norway, Norwegian radio station NRK P3. P3 Gold was first held on 29 November 2013 at Sentrum Scene in Oslo, offering awards in four categories: "Newcomer of the Year" (''År ...
in the category "Live Artist of the Year"
*2016:
P3 Gull
''P3 Gull'' (in ) is a music show and an award ceremony organized by the Norway, Norwegian radio station NRK P3. P3 Gold was first held on 29 November 2013 at Sentrum Scene in Oslo, offering awards in four categories: "Newcomer of the Year" (''År ...
in the category "Song of the Year", for the single "Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din"
*2016:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Urban", for the album ''Heisann Montebello''
*2016:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Album of the Year", for the album ''Heisann Montebello''
*2017:
P3 Gull
''P3 Gull'' (in ) is a music show and an award ceremony organized by the Norway, Norwegian radio station NRK P3. P3 Gold was first held on 29 November 2013 at Sentrum Scene in Oslo, offering awards in four categories: "Newcomer of the Year" (''År ...
in the category "Live Artist of the Year"
*2017:
Edvardprisen in the category "Text" for ''Heisann Montebello''
*2019:
P3 Gull
''P3 Gull'' (in ) is a music show and an award ceremony organized by the Norway, Norwegian radio station NRK P3. P3 Gold was first held on 29 November 2013 at Sentrum Scene in Oslo, offering awards in four categories: "Newcomer of the Year" (''År ...
in the category "Live Artist of the Year"
*2019:
Spellemannprisen
The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...
in the category "Album of the Year", for the album
Sas Plus/Sas Pussy
Popular culture
''Norway's Gujarati Rockstar'', a documentary released in 2023, explores the musical journey and
Gujarati roots of Chirag Patel.
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
Other charted songs
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Spellemannprisen winners
Norwegian musical duos
Hip-hop duos
Musical groups from Oslo
Norwegian hip-hop groups