After a few years in Egypt on refugee status, the Fadlelmola brothers moved to Canada with their mother and two sisters in 2005. The matriarch didn’t have a job in Edmonton – or family, either – but a social worker in Egypt recommended the city to them. So that’s where they ended up, while their father stayed behind in Sudan, their homeland.
“Could you imagine, what goes through the mind of a young man forced to leave his life behind?” raps middle brother Osman, a.k.a Namso, 15, on “Sudan Story.” The song by the brothers, who go by the appropriate name, The Over Achievers (T.O.A.), is available on Jali Vol. 2, an upcoming compilation of local black artists made through a community building project, on a government grant.
Now imagine this too: Just six years ago, Namso, Muta and Mustafa (a.k.a. Moto), couldn’t even speak English, let alone rap. Well, maybe they could say “yes, hello,” concedes Muta, the oldest brother, who was 11 when they landed. But they gained knowledge of the language, and confidence, through the Tegler Youth Centre‘s hip-hop program.
They soon got the attention of Dirt Gritie, one-fourth of veteran rap group Politic Live, who took them into Music For Mavericks Inc.’s studio. “What attracted me to the group at first was how much they were like Politic Live,” remembers Gritie, their manager. Like his cousin, brother and friend with whom he formed Politic Live, the three brothers were “all in it for different reasons, willing to do their best and be open to advice. I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.”
“Gritie helped us develop our performance,” says Moto, the afro-haired 13-year-old. “We used to have sessions every Saturday, and from [noon] to four we would do a rehearsal.”
Adds Muta, “He taught us what we need to do, how to reach the audience when you’re on stage, how you want to look at the audience when you’re on stage. Just basic things, right?”