Kansas City Playlist: Traveling Music For Mayor Q's Trip To Qatar

For most Kansas City residents, Mayor Q's journey to the Middle East isn't playing well. 

Conservatives and critics question his departure as crime continues to ramp up.

Meanwhile . . .

Many progressive allies resent the trip because of a perceived alliance with Prez Trump's recent Qatar visit and a controversial "palace in the sky" gift. 

More balanced opinions remind us that Quinton Lucas won't be the only mayor in the Gulf region and likely won't benefit much from all of that oil money flowing so freely. 

Check the official statement . . .

"The mayor’s office stated that he will spend his time in West Asia discussing global economic markets and present Kansas City and Missouri investment opportunities at the Qatar Investment Authority."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

KCTV5: Mayor Lucas will head to Qatar for economic forum, touring 2022 World Cup operations

MSN: Kansas City mayor is headed to Qatar ahead of 2026 World Cup. What to know

Fox4: As crime rises in Kansas City, Mayor Lucas prepares for trip to Qatar

And so . . .  

We'll leave it to the TKC blog community to debate the merits of the journey, in the meantime, we simply wanted to share a few tracks inspired by Mayor Q's Arabian nights. 

Here are some of favorite jams apropso for the desert crossing . . .

A Saturday night insight into your 2nd favorite local blogger . . . We've always had a weakness for "world music" and this somewhat recent track is an EXCEPTIONAL road trip jam with a tenuous Arab connection . . . "C'est la vie" is a song by Algerian raï singer Khaled. It was produced by Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne and released on Universal Music Division AZ becoming a summer hit for Khaled in France in 2012.

The song is bilingual, with the main verses in Algerian Arabic and the chorus in French.

Just a moment ago we stumbled upon what is probably the most appropriate selection for tonight's playlist and links directly to Qatar and Mayor Q's World Cup 2026 mission:

"Dreamers" is a 2022 song by South Korean singer Jung Kook of BTS. Part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup official soundtrack, the song was released on November 20 to coincide with the first match of that year's FIFA World Cup and its opening ceremony.

Fahad Al Kubaisi, a famous Qatari artist, collaborated with Jung Kook to perform Dreamers, the performance reflected on the cultural significance of the collaboration, noting it as a proud moment to represent Qatari culture on a global stage.

Jay-Z's hit song "Big Pimpin'" released in the spring of 2000 utilizes a sample of the Egyptian song "Khosara Khosara," composed by Baligh Hamdi and used in the 1960 film "Fata Ahlami". The track raised questions about the appropriation of Arabic culture and music by Western artists. Some argue that the sample should have been more fully credited to the original composer, while others argue that the utilization of the sample was consistent with U.S. fair use laws and that the context of the song in "Big Pimpin'" was different from the context of the original.

Either way, the hip-hop classic speaks to Mayor Q's ongoing ascendancy that now takes to the global stage.

As always, we wanted to share something just a bit "spicy" for the bridge with a bit of a connection to Arab culture by way of American pop music . . . Check the backstory: "Back in 1992, Madonna sampled "El Yom 'Ulliqa 'Ala Khashaba" by Lebanese singer Fairuz in her highly anticipated single Erotica without Fairuz's consent. It caused a controversy and led to a lawsuit that was settled out of court." Double bonus, we're always honored to feature any clip containing hip-hop legend Big Daddy Kane and super model Naomi Campbell.

AI answers ALMOST ruined our fun tonight . . . Here's what the computer says: 

No, Qatar does not have a casbah, a term typically used to describe the historic fortified quarter of a city in North Africa and the Middle East. While Doha, the capital of Qatar, does have a historic area and architecture, it's not traditionally referred to as a casbah. The term "casbah" is more commonly associated with cities like Algiers, Morocco, and other locations with a similar history and architectural style.

However . . . The whole reason to compile this list was so that we could include this dumb, jokey and silly track from the 80s . . .

"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982 as the second single from their fifth album, Combat Rock. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100  -- Their only top 10 single on the U.S. charts.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.