This conversation is an essential guide for anyone navigating the dualities of Arab identity, artistic integrity, and the unpredictable forces of the viral age. Multidisciplinary artist and professor Narcy (Yassin Alsalman) dives deep into the complex relationship between art, celebrity, power, and internet culture. Narcy discusses his conscious choice to reject the pursuit of virality, instead focusing on crafting art with deep meaning and intention, even as his work—from his viral Kanye West course at Concordia to his music videos—repeatedly breaks through the noise. Narcy unpacks his latest album, To Be An Arab, an intentional return to analog art in a digital world, and details the spiritual serendipity of creating the groundbreaking music video for R.E.D with Yasiin Bey and The Halluci Nation (formerly known as A Tribe Called Red). 

0:00 Introduction 

2:54 Narcy's Deep Fake Video and the Death of Celebrity

3:59 Narcy's "Me Against The World"

6:51 To Be An Arab: The Double LP and the Power of Analog

7:21 Rejecting Celebrity by Removing Himself From Music Videos

8:13 Collaborating with AboodSkiba and Investing in the Arab Creative Economy

9:07 Narcy Performs "Palm Trees"

11:45 AboodSkiba's Political Comedy and Cultural Translation

12:44 Narcy Discusses Data Rights and The Ego of Internet Exposure

14:25 Misunderstood Elements of Celebrity and Internet Culture

16:16 The Kanye West Course at Concordia: Going Viral by Accident and Its Aftermath

18:18 The Politics of Academia

20:30 Rejecting The Power of Virality

22:27 "R.E.D" with Yasiin Bey and The Halluci Nation: Decolonial Art and Indigenous Solidarity

32:12 Advice to Young Arab Artists on Integrity and Sacrifice

34:43 No Smoking Allowed: A Rap Exercise as a Flex

36:28 The Analog vs. Digital Divide in Art Value

38:12 Narcy's "The Sword and The Neck"

42:21 Crafting a Visual Practice and Processing Trauma Through Art

44:11 Q&A: Arab Masculinity and the Will to Change

46:58 Q&A: Contextualizing Early Political Work like "Fatwa"

50:16 Q&A: The Political Driver Behind Artistic Process

53:43 Q&A: The Role of Humor in Dealing with Heavy Topics

56:39 Q&A: Globalizing Arab Identity Without Dilution

59:58 Q&A: Protecting the Soulful Work From Systemized Propaganda

1:01:14 Q&A: Experiences with Censorship

1:02:07 Q&A: Managing a Love-Hate Relationship with The Internet

1:04:14 Q&A: What Positive Should We Expect in The Future?

Yassin Alsalman, better known by his stage name Narcy, is an Iraqi-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, author, and university professor, and one of the co-founders of Maktaba bookshop in Montreal. 

Connect with Narcy 👉 https://instagram.com/narcynarce

Hosted by Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 

https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

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