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Belly (rapper)

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This article is about the Canadian rapper. For other uses, see Belly (disambiguation).
Belly
File:Belly Profile.jpg
Background information
Birth nameAhmad Balshe
Also known asRebellyus, BellyBoy, Dablo
Born (1984-04-07) April 7, 1984 (age 40)
Jenin, Palestine
OriginCanada
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, songwriter, Producer
Years active2001–Present
LabelsRoc Nation (present)[1]
SAL&CO
XO
Websitehttp://www.bellyisdead.com

Ahmad Balshe (Arabic: أحمد بلشي) (born April 7, 1984), better known by his stage name Belly, is a Palestinian Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper.

Born in Jenin, Palestine, his musical career has been based in Ottawa, Ontario. In addition to a Juno, he has won three MuchMusic Video Awards and has twice attained a top chart position in the national Much Music Countdown. Belly has written many #1 and platinum gold/hits for other artists. His stage name of Belly/Rebellyus was derived from the term "rebellious."

Career

His first single "Pressure" featuring Ginuwine peaked at the #10 position on Canadian CHR radio charts, and #1 on MuchMusic's Video chart. In April 2007, Belly released the video for his second single "Don't Be Shy" featuring Nina Sky, as well as the video for "History of Violence" Directed by Martin Verigin and Jeffrey Hagerman. The video remains his most controversial record to date. In "History of Violence," Belly explains his views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the War in Iraq.[2]

Go Sens Go

During the 2007 NHL Playoffs, as the Ottawa Senators were competing, Belly released a single entitled "Bandwagon" (produced by Hussain). When the Senators made the Stanley Cup Finals, Belly released a second version of the song which featured goaltender Ray Emery.[3]

2007: The Revolution

Main article: The Revolution (Belly album)

His debut album, The Revolution, was released on June 5, 2007. This double disc album was divided into two sections: "The People" and "The System." "The People" contained more in depth songs, such as "History of Violence" (produced by Whosane?), "Follow Me," and "Revolutionary," where he challenges his listeners to discover the facts regarding the Middle-East situation. Other songs on this disc include "People Change" (produced by Whosane?), "Leave Me Alone" where he talks about his longtime friends and the memories that he kept from them. "The System" contained his hit singles "Don't Be Shy", "Ridin'", and "Pressure"

The Revolution achieved Gold sales in Canada and won the 2008 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year.[4] Singles from The Revolution won two MuchMusic Video Awards for Best Rap Video; "Pressure" in 2007 and "Ridin'" in 2008.

2008: Police raid

A major police raid was conducted at the artist's home in Greely, Ontario on August 15, 2008 based on a search warrant to seek firearms there. However, the only items of note found in this raid were three BB guns that were purchased, on sale, from a Canadian Tire store. No charges were laid and Belly later commented that the raid "was a waste of Ottawa taxpayers' money, but now my neighbours can see that I don't have anything to hide."[5]

2009-2011: Mixtapes

Belly also released a body of work that was a compilation of songs he had worked on with Dogg Pound rapper Kurupt some time after his first album The Revolution. Some songs were unreleased with a few that had seen release dates on previous mixtapes. This mixtape was called Belly & Kurupt The Lost Tapes 2008 hosted yet again by DJ Ill Will. In 2011, Belly released another new mixtape titled The Greatest Dream I Never Had which he has said will have no features.[6]

2012: Sleepless Nights 1.5

His second album, Sleepless Nights 1.5 was released April, 2012. The first single "Hot Girl"[7] featuring Snoop Dogg was released on September 8, 2009.

Second single "To The Top" featuring Ava, was released in 2010. Belly's first single of 2011 was "Back Against the Wall"[8] Jose runs it featuring Grammy nominated singer Kobe Honeycutt.

2015: Signing to Roc Nation

In May 2015, Belly released his newest mixtape, entitled Up For Days.[9] It featured 10 tracks, including four collaborations with Travis Scott, Juelz Santana, French Montana, and XO-label head, The Weeknd in addition to six solo tracks. On November 24 of the same year, it was announced that he had signed with Jay Z's Roc Nation label.[10]

Belly was also prominently featured on The Weeknd's 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness, earning 6 writing credits.

In February 2016, he released the song Zanzibar featuring American rapper Juicy J.[11]

Personal life

Belly is a Muslim.[12][13][14][15][16] In May 2016, Belly and The Weeknd cancelled an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show due to Donald Trump being present.[17]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Information Canada Certifications
2007 The Revolution
27[18]
2015 Up For Days
  • Released: May 7, 2015
2016 Another Day In Paradise
  • Released: May 27, 2016

Mixtapes

  • 2005: DJ Kool Kid Presents: Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1
  • 2006: DJ Kay Slay Presents: Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 2
  • 2007: Big Mike Presents: Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 3
  • 2009: DJ Smallz Presents: Back for the First Time Vol. 1
  • 2011: DJ Ill Will Presents: Sleepless Nights
  • 2011: DJ Ill Will Presents: Belly & Kurupt The Lost Tapes 2008
  • 2011: DJ Drama Presents: The Greatest Dream I Never Had
  • 2015: Up For Days
  • 2016: Another Day in Paradise

Singles

As lead artist

Year Title Chart positions Album
CAN US
2007 "Pressure" (featuring Ginuwine) 10 — The Revolution
"I'm the Man" (featuring Kurupt) — —
"Ridin'" (featuring Mario Winans) 80 —
2009 "Hot Girl" (featuring Snoop Dogg) 58 — Back for the First Time Vol. 1 /
Sleepless Nights 1.5
2011 "Back Against the Wall" (featuring Kobe) — — Sleepless Nights 1.5
"I Drink I Smoke" (featuring Snoop Dogg) — —
"Purple Drugs" — —
"Num8ers" — —
"Hartwin Cole" (featuring Faber Drive) — —
2012 "1200" (featuring Juicy J) — — Non-album single
2015 "Might Not" (featuring The Weeknd) 28 68 Up for Days
"No Option" — —
2016 "Zanzibar" (featuring Juicy J) — — Another Day In Paradise

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Belly shoots from the gut". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved June 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Champions, baby". Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  4. ^ CP Records Releases New Belly and Keshia Chante single "Get To Know You"
  5. ^ "Police gun raid on rapper's home a total bust". Ottawa Citizen. August 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 18 August 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ Music video for "Hot Girl"
  8. ^ Music video for "Back Against The Wall"
  9. ^ http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/34118/belly-up-for-days.html
  10. ^ http://exclaim.ca/music/article/belly_signs_with_roc_nation_for_new_lp
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ "Belly on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Belly on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Belly on iTunes". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Belly on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Belly on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  17. ^ Goldstein, Jessica. "Trump Inspires The Weeknd To Cancel Jimmy Kimmel Performance". Thinkprogress. CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  18. ^ http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/2007/06/13/
  19. ^ http://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/?fwp_gp_search=belly&fwp_gp_canadian=y
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