It came out between 2006 and 2008, and had sort of Middle Eastern inspired sound. It was popular enough to have been on the vh1 countdown for awhile. That’s not a lot to go on, but it’s all I remember.
Is this it?
No, thanks for trying, though.
I should’ve said in the OP, IIRC, the rapper/singer, or whatever had a non American sounding accent.
Was it something by MIA perhaps?
Either way, listen to this:
Well there’s Arab Money by Busta Rhymes, but somehow I doubt they would put that on VH1.
Also, just remembered Jay-Z and Punjabi’s Beware of the Boys which was popular for a while.
Try this one…
Chaiyya Chaiyya - Bollywood Joint"
Performed by Sukhwinder Singh, Sapna Awasthi featuring Panjabi MC
It’s on the soundtrack of Inside Man, but I’ve heard it elsewhere.
Sting (I think?) also had a song come out within the last couple of years that had an Eastern sound, but I don’t remember the name of it… I’ll do some more digging.
Is it King Without a Crown, by Matisyahu?
Was it a man or a woman rapping?
Although Matisyahu is awesome, I don’t really see how that (or any of his songs) would be considered “Middle-Eastern inspired”, discounting the obvious fact that Israel is geographically in the Middle East. Also, he’s usually classified as reggae rather than hip hop.
I was racing to find the name of that song, I am so sure that is it. Beware of the Boys, I mean.
Well, it does start with some chanting. Worth a shot.
Truth Hurts, Addictive f. Rakim?
A man, but I’m glad I forgot to mention that before, since these songs Cosmic Relief linked to are pretty catchy.
None of the songs in the thread are the one I was thinking about though.
Beware the Boys-Jay Z and Punjabi MC?
Put me down as another who’s first guess was “Beware of the Boys”, but the time line doesn’t quite fit; I believe that one came out around '04. I also thought of Iraqi-American rapper Timz’s Iraq, but something tells me that didn’t make it to VH1. Do you remember anything about the sound of the rapper? His voice? Fast, slow, or unique type of flow? Any lyrical content?
If I may piggyback and get some help from those who have already posted, I too have a hiphop song I can’t figure out. It was on MTV2(don’t remember if it was a countdown or not) about a month or two ago. The video was, at least partially, in a classroom and the artist/music had a very Andre 3000 sound. Anyone?
I don’t know why but I always thought “Smack That” by Akon had a sort of middle-eastern sound.