Fresh from their performance at what was dubbed 'Muslim Live 8' in London last week, Danish hip-hop trio Outlandish are topping the bill at Dream Park tonight. The group, based in Denmark, will take stage alongside Arabian Knightz, a group of young Egyptian rappers from Heliopolis. Although the band has released their albums across India, the Middle East and North Africa, how much of a fanbase they have in Egypt is to be judged by attendance on Friday. In their native Scandinavia though, how big are they? Evelyn Jones, 21, from Stockholm said that she was familiar with Outlandish, citing their two most well-known songs. However, the group also claim to "educate people through their music and devote an entire section of their website to the plight of Palestinian youth. They quote statistics on the proportion of the Palestinian population under the age of 17 (50 percent) and an alarming figure of 70 percent of 10-24 year olds suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Did the group's religion or campaigning on global society and development issues make a difference to her? "I knew Outlandish mixed different languages but I was not aware of the other issues they championed, Evelyn responded. Although not a huge fan of Outlandish, 23-year-old Norwegian Tor Haakon Tordhol, plans on going to tonight's concert. "It was the same last autumn when a Norwegian play was put on at the Giza pyramids - a fun setting makes the proposition much more appealing. It is a peculiar thing for Scandinavians to be performing in Egypt, so I reckon I will go just because of that. Self-proclaimed Outalndish fan Hila Babrakzai, 24, from Ringsted, Denmark observed that the group's fans in their home country tended to be second generation immigrants. She likes them because "they deal with a lot of good topics. "It is not superficial like American hip-hop. Prejudice is taken up in their music. Almost every song has a message, whether that be racism, war or on other topical issues, Hila continued. One thing all of them were in consensus on was that in Scandinavia, Outlandish's popularity peaked a few years ago (with the release of their album 'Bread and Barrels of Water'). Maybe that is because they have devoted much of their time recently to touring, turning their attention towards the Middle East and North Africa. If the group perform well at Dream Park, they will surely amass a whole new set of followers. For concert details, please see the agenda.
