Massari
Encyclopedia
Sari Abboud (born December 10, 1980 in Beirut
, Lebanon
) better known by his stage name
Massari is a Lebanese Canadian R&B
, pop
, and hip hop
singer who grew up in Canada
. Massari means "money" in Arabic.
He started his musical career in 2001-2002, and has released two albums, Massari
in 2005 and Forever Massari
in 2009. He has had a number of hit singles in Canada
, the Middle East
and internationally.
, Quebec
when he was 10 years old. At 13, he moved to Cedarwood/Baycrest, a neighborhood of Ottawa
, Ontario
with his younger brothers Sami and Samer. Where he attended Hillcrest High School
. In 2002, Massari released a demo for "Spitfire" that received good airplay on local radio. Based on his initial success, Massari signed a record deal with independent record label, Capital Prophets (CP) Records Inc.
becoming the prominent successful performing artist for the record company alongside Belly
.
After three years of preparation, he released a self-titled album Massari
on CP Records. His debut album resulted in four singles, receiving Gold certification in Canada, and he went on to have international success including in Europe
, Asia
, the Middle East
and in his home country Lebanon
. The relationship between Massari and CP Records continued until late 2007. On 14 November 2007, Massari and the record label, CP Records came to a mutual agreement to dissolve their relationship due to contractual and financial disputes.
On 12 June 2008, Massari signed a new contract with Universal Records
who had been keeping an eye on Massari's progress as a singer. While the album was in preparation, Massari released two singles, "Say You Love Me" and "In Love Again".On May 16, 2008 it was performed in Lebanon on Star Academy Arab World. Neither was included in the new album.
During 2009, he also released two tracks from the forthcoming album, namely "Bad Girl
" and "Body Body
". The album itself Forever Massari was officially released on Universal Records
Canada on 10 November 2009. It included songs by writers and producers like Rupert Gayle
, Alex Greggs
, Derek Brin, Rob Wells
and Justin Forsley.
Massari is currently working on his third album scheduled for release in 2011. In summer of 2011, Massari signed again with CP Records.
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
) better known by his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Massari is a Lebanese Canadian R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
singer who grew up in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Massari means "money" in Arabic.
He started his musical career in 2001-2002, and has released two albums, Massari
Massari (album)
Massari is the self-titled debut album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on May 31, 2005 under the label CP Records. It was co-written and co-produced by both rapper Belly and Massari and other producers included on the album are Whosane?, Da Heala, and Beat Merchant...
in 2005 and Forever Massari
Forever Massari
Forever Massari is the second studio album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on November 10, 2009, under the label Universal Records Canada....
in 2009. He has had a number of hit singles in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and internationally.
Career
Massari and his family moved to MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
when he was 10 years old. At 13, he moved to Cedarwood/Baycrest, a neighborhood of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
with his younger brothers Sami and Samer. Where he attended Hillcrest High School
Hillcrest High School (Ottawa)
Hillcrest High School is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board high school in the Elmvale Acres neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school was opened in 1961, and has over 1100 students. Its sports teams are nicknamed "The Hawks". Hillcrest High School is a very ethnically diverse...
. In 2002, Massari released a demo for "Spitfire" that received good airplay on local radio. Based on his initial success, Massari signed a record deal with independent record label, Capital Prophets (CP) Records Inc.
CP Records
CP Records, formerly known as Capital Prophet Records, is a Canadian independent record label. It was founded in 2002 in Ottawa, Ontario by Tony Sal. It is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario...
becoming the prominent successful performing artist for the record company alongside Belly
Belly (rapper)
Ahmed Balshe , better known by his stage name Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper....
.
After three years of preparation, he released a self-titled album Massari
Massari (album)
Massari is the self-titled debut album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on May 31, 2005 under the label CP Records. It was co-written and co-produced by both rapper Belly and Massari and other producers included on the album are Whosane?, Da Heala, and Beat Merchant...
on CP Records. His debut album resulted in four singles, receiving Gold certification in Canada, and he went on to have international success including in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and in his home country Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. The relationship between Massari and CP Records continued until late 2007. On 14 November 2007, Massari and the record label, CP Records came to a mutual agreement to dissolve their relationship due to contractual and financial disputes.
On 12 June 2008, Massari signed a new contract with Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
who had been keeping an eye on Massari's progress as a singer. While the album was in preparation, Massari released two singles, "Say You Love Me" and "In Love Again".On May 16, 2008 it was performed in Lebanon on Star Academy Arab World. Neither was included in the new album.
During 2009, he also released two tracks from the forthcoming album, namely "Bad Girl
Bad Girl (Massari song)
"Bad Girl" is Lebanese Canadian R&B/Pop singer Massari's first single from his second studio album Forever Massari.-Music video:A music video was released on iTunes on the 9th of June 2009, it features Massari's love interest driving a Lotus Exige and Massari following closely behind on a...
" and "Body Body
Body Body
"Body Body" is Lebanese Canadian R&B/Pop singer Massari's second single from his second studio album Forever Massari.-Music video:A music video directed by Marc André Debruyne was released on iTunes on the 10th of November 2009, featuring Massari and a group of girls in a Luxy night club in...
". The album itself Forever Massari was officially released on Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
Canada on 10 November 2009. It included songs by writers and producers like Rupert Gayle
Rupert Gayle
Rupert Gayle is a Canadian songwriter. He has written for Warner/Chappel and BMG Music Publishing, and is currently signed to ole.- Written and/or Produced Work :*Shiloh*Shawn Desman*Keshia Chante*Jamelia*Alonzo*Massari*Melissa O'Neil...
, Alex Greggs
Alex Greggs
Alex Greggs is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and remixer. He has worked with some of the biggest names in pop and hip hop. He started as a leading producer in the Canadian music scene, notably for Love Inc....
, Derek Brin, Rob Wells
Rob Wells
Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk,...
and Justin Forsley.
Massari is currently working on his third album scheduled for release in 2011. In summer of 2011, Massari signed again with CP Records.
Collaborations
Massari has collaborated with a number of artists:- The single "Smile For Me" featured the rap artistRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
LoonLoon (rapper)Amir Junaid Muhadith best known by his stage name Loon, is an African-American rapper that was formerly part of P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released his self-titled debut album, Loon. He has also made many guest appearances on songs of the R&B and hip hop genres. He is best known for his...
. - The single "Rush the Floor" features another Capital Prophets artist and a personal childhood friend of Massari, Palestinian Canadian rap artist BellyBelly (rapper)Ahmed Balshe , better known by his stage name Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper....
.
Studio albums
| Year | Information | Canada Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Massari Massari (album) Massari is the self-titled debut album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on May 31, 2005 under the label CP Records. It was co-written and co-produced by both rapper Belly and Massari and other producers included on the album are Whosane?, Da Heala, and Beat Merchant...
|
CAN Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... : Gold |
|
| 2009 | Forever Massari Forever Massari Forever Massari is the second studio album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on November 10, 2009, under the label Universal Records Canada.... November 17, 2009 Internationally Universal Records Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:... Canada Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , iTunes ITunes iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.... |
||
Singles
| Year | Single | CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
GER | POR Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Smile for Me Smile for Me (song) "Smile for Me" is a song by R&B singer Massari from his self-titled debut album Massari, featuring rapper Loon. It is his first ever single in the Canadian charts reaching #18... " (feat. Loon Loon (rapper) Amir Junaid Muhadith best known by his stage name Loon, is an African-American rapper that was formerly part of P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released his self-titled debut album, Loon. He has also made many guest appearances on songs of the R&B and hip hop genres. He is best known for his... ) |
18 | — | 12 | Massari Massari (album) Massari is the self-titled debut album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on May 31, 2005 under the label CP Records. It was co-written and co-produced by both rapper Belly and Massari and other producers included on the album are Whosane?, Da Heala, and Beat Merchant... |
| "Be Easy Be Easy (Massari song) "Be Easy" is a song by R&B singer Massari from his self-titled debut album Massari.-Music video:A music video was made for the song, which won "Best Pop Video" at the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards. It features Massari with a yellow car with some ladies dancing.-Charts:... " |
4 | 70 | 16 | ||
| 2006 | "Real Love" | — | 48 | — | |
| "Rush the Floor" (feat. Belly Belly (rapper) Ahmed Balshe , better known by his stage name Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper.... ) |
— | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Say You Love Me" | — | — | — | non-album single |
| "In Love Again" | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "Bad Girl Bad Girl (Massari song) "Bad Girl" is Lebanese Canadian R&B/Pop singer Massari's first single from his second studio album Forever Massari.-Music video:A music video was released on iTunes on the 9th of June 2009, it features Massari's love interest driving a Lotus Exige and Massari following closely behind on a... " |
77 | — | — | Forever Massari Forever Massari Forever Massari is the second studio album by Lebanese/Canadian R&B artist Massari released on November 10, 2009, under the label Universal Records Canada.... |
| "Body Body Body Body "Body Body" is Lebanese Canadian R&B/Pop singer Massari's second single from his second studio album Forever Massari.-Music video:A music video directed by Marc André Debruyne was released on iTunes on the 10th of November 2009, featuring Massari and a group of girls in a Luxy night club in... " |
81 | — | — | ||
Awards/Nominations
- 2005: Nominated for 2 Much Music Video Awards for Best Independent Video and Much Vibe Best Rap Video
- 2005: Nominated for 2 Canadian Urban Music Awards for Best New Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
- 2006: Nominated for 5 Much Music Award for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Pop Video, Best Independent Video for "Be Easy" and People's Choice Favorite Canadian Artist
- 2006: Won Much Music Award for Best Pop Video for "Be Easy"
- 2006: Nominated for Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year category
- 2006: Won Much Music Video Award for "Real Love"
Citations
- Ottawa Citizen: "Back with a splash: Rebuilding the Massari empire"
- BlackBeatsFM Interview with Massari (German)
- Metro News Toronto: Forever or nothing
- Star Phoenix: Rebuilding Massari empire
- PlanetUrban (Australia) interview with Massari
- Naked Eye video interview with Massari