January 25, 2024
Producer Swizz Beatz Talks Roller Skating In Saudi Arabia And His New Art Exhibit With Alicia Keys
The legendary hip hop producer and art connoisseur is bringing his immersive skating experience back to Saudi Arabia following a great first year.
Grammy Award-winning record producer and artist Swizz Beatz joined BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Selena Hill on The New Norm, where he discussed his recent skating rink installation in Saudi Arabia, “Alula on Wheels II,” and his soon-to-be-unveiled art exhibition in Brooklyn, New York.
Brimming with arcade activities and house music, Alula on Wheels is the brainchild of Beatz and his long-time collaborator Noor Taher. Together, the two conceived the idea of an immersive roller skating experience, which can only be referred to as an homage to his love for the Middle East. “It started as a fun conversation, and being in Saudi and seeing the amazing landscape of Alula, it’s like, ‘Man, you know what? There’s a lot of activation, but what if we did a skating rink where the locals fly in and have a skating experience,” said Beatz. After a successful inaugural year in 2023, the project is returning for a second round.
Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean, is a Bronx native, and he revealed that the joint venture partially arose out of a desire to bring that same sense of New York community and joy from skating to the Middle Eastern country. “You know, I grew up in the Bronx where we had Skate Key and, if you were from Jersey, you got Branch Brook,” he shared. “There were just so many skating activities that we were able to have growing up, and I was like, ‘Damn, imagine bringing that to the desert and people having fun with their families.”
Similarly, the legendary hip hop producer also wanted to give back to the region as it has been exploited for so long.
“Many people go not only to Saudi but to other places just to take things. We wanted to bring something that the people can feel, whether we’re there or not, and it’s been an amazing journey so far,” he said.
Dean chose Alula as the site for the project for a simple reason — its landscape. Alula is a prime destination for any traveler with its rolling yellow plains and picturesque scenery. For Dean, he viewed the natural landscape as the perfect backdrop to the skating rink. “I’ve never been to a skating rink with that background. We’re flying in DJs from around the world and I think it’s a great introduction to Saudi, although the whole region is becoming so familiar with the world. So many great things are happening there.”
During the interview, Dean also opened up about his upcoming collaborative project with his wife, singer Alicia Keys, who he has been married to since 2010. The Grammy Award-winning duo is launching an art exhibit entitled “Giant: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” which is slated to open at the Brooklyn Museum this February. “That’s a big big deal,” said Dean.
“Giant is the title. We named the show Giant because we’re not really giant collectors of our own culture. There are always other people owning our culture, and we wanted to use this show to double down on ‘It’s OK to own your culture.’ You know, a lot of people want to go outside of things that don’t look like them.”
Watch the full interview below.