Omar Mouallem
| Omar Mouallem | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | A.O.K. (Assault of Knowledge) |
| Born |
September 13, 1985 Slave Lake, Alberta |
| Origin | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Website | Official website |
Omar Mouallem, also known by his stage name A.O.K. (Assault Of Knowledge) is a rapper and award-winning writer.[1][2]
Biography
Omar Mouallem is a rapper, writer and editor. He has contributed to "Wired", Eighteen Bridges, "The Walrus", Globe and Mail, enRoute and Vice Canada. His essays and features have garnered him recognition from the National Magazine Awards, Professional Writers Association of Canada and the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association. [3]
In 2008 he wrote a book called Amazing Cats, which was published by Folklore Publishing. He used the money to fund his debut album "If You Don't Buy This CD the Terrorists Win" [4] [5]
"Under the Veil", an article in "Eighteen Bridges" about the personal and political meanings of hijiabs, won him an award from the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association in 2012 for Best Alberta Story.[6] He won a 2014 National Magazine Awards for another Eighteen Bridges story, "The Kingdom of Haymour", which profiled a man who took the Canadian Embassy in Beirut hostage in the 1970s over a British Columbia land dispute.[7]
In 2013, he won Edmonton's Emerging Artist Award and served as the Edmonton Public Library's writer in residence. [8]
Music
Mouallem began his rap career in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2006 he moved to Edmonton, Alberta. In 2008 he released his debut album, If You Don't Buy This CD the Terrorists Win on Ill-Legitimate Productions.[9] The Canadian music blog, Hero Hill, called it, "smarter and more thoughtful than your average rap album."[2]
On November 27, 2010, he released his second album, Q Without U, as a digital download code packaged inside a children's book of the same name illustrated by Josh Holinaty. Both the music and story are about love, with the story following letters Q and U through their breakup "to see other letters."[10] His latest album was a 2012 collaboration with producer Dan Currie titled "Edmontosaurus."[8]
He's performed at such festivals as Nextfest, Edmonton Poetry Festival, Hip Hop in the Park and Scribble Jam,[11] and created theme music for call-in radio show Skeptically Speaking and Dan Savage's "Savage Love" [12]
References
- ↑ Winners of the 37th annual National Magazine Awards The Sex Positive Journalism Awards | News
- 1 2 Quick Hitters:: Prairie Rap Blowout Edition - Herohill
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Amazing-Cats-Stories-about-Omar-Mouallem/9781894864732-item.html?pticket=1ejeobipzxv41v45zgjld3ziBQ87CcyhbRwCiwf2gLTEccJnC%2fk%3d
- ↑
- ↑ Alberta Magazine Publishers Association
- ↑ National Magazine Awards
- 1 2
- ↑ A.O.K. (4) - If You Don't Buy This CD The Terrorists Win
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
External links
|