"Well he has a lot of money and that's why he's so successful," seems to be the standard retort from many of Two Tone's detractors, a common slight aimed at one of Dubai's fastest rising music stars.
For the Dutch-Moroccan rapper and entrepreneur, born Rachid Ben Messaoud, the criticism is not only unfounded but highly dismissive of the hard work he's put in over the years to reach his current status as one of the region's most sought after producers.
"You can't buy yourself into this industry, you have to earn it," says Two Tone, who will be the opening act for Dubai Music Week headliner Jason Derulo tomorrow night at Dubai World Trade Centre.
His rebuttal is a fair assessment of the truculency some Middle East artists generate on their way to the top. After all, Dubai is awash with rich kids trying to buy their way into fame and rarely do they ever achieve anything more than the bragging rights afforded to a spotlight feature in a slickly produced music video. For many music artists based here - particularly in the grandiose realm of hip-hop - projecting raw talent usually takes a back seat to the flashier side of the business.
Two Tone's wealth, however, is of his own making, the result of a smart investment that began seven years ago in a string of souvenir shops across town that has allowed him to bankroll his craft without depending on outside financing.
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That he managed to score a few smash hits like Señorita and Keep on Going - which charted in places like Spain, France and South America - and worked with rap icons like Ice-T and Krayzie Bone, is a testament to his prodigious, and somewhat unexpected success. When the 38-year-old opened up for Drake in Dubai in March of this year, the Canadian rapper was so impressed that he personally sought him out after the show.
Two Tone's lyrics, music videos and persona are unapologetically garish, with ostentatious displays of wealth packaged together in typical hop-hop fashion. With so much negativity currently permeating across the region, it's important to "promote feel-good music to young people", he says, from someone who overcame poverty and a rough adolescence.
"What I've heard [from Middle Eastern hip-hop artists] is that everybody is complaining about their life and how much they're struggling," says Two Tone. "I assume if you're a kid already in this mess, you don't need to listen to somebody saying how bad life is, because you can figure that out yourself."
His upbeat style is working: Arab stars from across the region are actively seeking out collaborations with him, including Arab Idol contestant Ibtissam Tiskat, with whom he recently released a track called Weli Liya/Coming Home that has garnered more than two million hits on YouTube in a matter of weeks. In October, he will be opening for Akon and French Montana when they perform at Meydan. And later this year his debut album will be released on Sony Music Middle East.
Closer to home he plans on promoting lesser known artists on his label Selfmade Entertainment DXB, in the hopes of better developing the city's music scene. An exciting collaboration with Dubai-based Electro-Pop duo Hollaphonic, arguably the city's biggest musical exports, is also in the works.
"I would love to help other [musicians] to guide them in the right way, and the only way for me to do that is to become really good at what I'm doing internationally by focusing on myself," he says.
"If you want to be number one you have to kind of be selfish, because that will put you in a position to actually help people."
