They are young, talented and already have two albums under their belt. Army of One is a group of seven guys living in Kuwait who are not afraid to explore their culture and experiences through hip hop and R&B.
The band members will be in Dubai tomorrow to open Fusion 06, the fashion, music and lifestyle festival.
I caught up with Sudanese-born group member QB to talk about their journey so far and what they plan for the future.
Are you looking forward to coming back to Dubai and opening Fusion 06?
We all love coming to Dubai. It's an amazing place and there are more things to do to have fun. With Fusion 06, what happened is they called our producer and it turned out that we were all free, so it was perfect. Dubai is the place to be right now so we are going to hang out there until Saturday.
Let's start from the beginning. How did you all meet?
Well, we have all been friends for a long time. I used to know Daffy and he was friends with DubG. That's how we met. We all knew each other somehow through one another. DubG then introduced us to NG who is our producer now. We started recording underground music together but always wanted to take a bigger step.
How did the name Army of One come about?
Actually, it was Spyro who came up with the name and we all loved it. There are seven of us all together but there is only one heart. You know what I mean? So really, it's Army of One heart.
Describe your music.
I would have to describe it with one word: Real. That's what it is.
Do you feel there is a clash between your culture and singing about getting a ‘lap dance'?
In our culture and in the Gulf, people listen to mainly Arabic, and for us to sing in English was a risk in itself. Thank God it worked out. As far as us singing about women and parties etc, we know there are certain limits not to cross but even our families love our music and they were the first to push us further.
So what kind of message are you trying to send through your music?
That no matter what happens, we will always be, first and foremost, Arabs. You know, there were people talking about how we are trying to be American and stuff but music is music. We all want to talk about life and the people who influence us.
Whose music do you love listening to?
Michael Jackson. I grew up listening to his music and I still love it to this day. He is amazing. If Michael released his songs like Smooth Criminal for the first time now, I guarantee it would be a huge hit. It's timeless.
Who would you like to collaborate with?
Alicia Keys tops my list of having the best female voice and I would definitely love to sing with her. When it comes to dropping beats, I would go for Timbaland, and even Justin Timberlake. The sound they have going on is crazy man. I would also like to work with Usher.
How has having success in music affected your lives?
We love the fact that we are living out our dream and it's only the beginning for us. We are just normal guys but yeah, things are a little different. We don't all have huge heads or anything. We worked hard for a long time.
Out of all your songs, which do you like best?
I definitely love Let's Roll (from the second album, Hush). It's a new flavour that makes you move. When you put this track on in the car, you can't help but nod your head to the beat.
Describe your personality.
I love life and I try to live it by the second. I try to keep it real. You can tell that's my word, right? (He laughs). But seriously, I'm a loving guy who appreciates his family, friends and our music. You see, music is about feelings and expression and that's why I love to sing.
Are you single?
Who me? Yeah, I am. Actually the whole of Army of One is single.
What kind of women are you guys looking for?
We are attracted to girls that are genuine. That's the most important thing. She has to be real.
What do you do for fun?
Well, we do a lot! We play basketball, PlayStation and we record a lot of music. I mean, we have so much music we haven't released. Every weekend we get together and we end up recording like two or three songs at least.
Are you working at the moment?
Actually, at the moment I am finishing my degree in architecture and design. After that I am planning to do my Master's degree abroad. Music and architecture are my priority. I will always have time for both.
What is the next step for Army of One?
Get ready for album number three. We are working on the beats right now but no release date has been set. So keep your eyes open. It will be off the hook.
Once we take off in the GCC we plan to go international and that would be something.
