Introduction
Sari Abboud (Arabic: ساري عبّود; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari (/məˈsɑːri/ mə-SAH-ree), is a Lebanese–Canadian R&B pop recording artist with roots in Palestine and Jordan. His music combines Middle Eastern culture with western culture. He started his musical career in 2001–2002, and has released three albums, Massari in 2005, Forever Massari in 2009 and Tune In in 2018. He has had a number of hit singles in Canada, his home country of Lebanon, the Middle East, Europe, and internationally. He is managed by SAL&CO.
Early life and education
Born in Beirut, his family relocated to Montreal, Quebec when he was 11 years old. At the age of 13, he and his younger brothers moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Hillcrest High School.
Musical career
He started his musical career in 2001-2002 adopting the stage name Massari, which in Lebanese Arabic, Massari (مصاري maṣāri ) means "money". The chosen name is also reminiscent of his birth name Sari. His cultural and social upbringing shaped his musical style very early in his music career. He released his first song "Spitfire" (2002) which was aired on Ottawa radio stations. Since then, Massari has been steadily writing and developing his sound.
2005-2007: Debut self-titled album and success with CP Records
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 continued to have international success in Europe, Asia, the Middle East. Two of his early singles "Be Easy" and "Real Love" besides being two of his major hits in Canada, cracking the Canadian Top 10, they also charted notably in the German Singles Chart. Based on his initial success, Massari signed a record deal with independent record label, CP Records, becoming the prominent successful performing artist for the record company alongside Belly (rapper). On November 14, 2007, Massari and his record label, CP Records, came to a mutual agreement to end their relationship.
2009-2010: Forever Massari and signing with Universal
During 2009, he 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.
2011-2013: Signing again with CP and Hero EP
In summer of 2011, Massari signed again with CP Records, after five years of his departure from the label. On June 20, 2012, Massari realized there was money to be made off of the Middle Eastern ethnic audience, and released a free single called "Full Circle" featuring Belly as the lead single from his first EP Hero. Massari's second single for the EP, called "Brand New Day", was released on July 1, 2012 (Canada Day). Massari shot the video in Miami with Canadian director RT!. On January 2013, "Brand New Day" went Gold in Canada. It also charted on the Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40, German Media Control Charts and Swiss Hitparade. The third single from the EP, "Shisha", features French Montana. It was released on May 21, 2013.
2017-present: Tune In
On March 24, 2017, Massari released a brand new song "So Long" along with a music video featuring former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach. It is the first single from his third album Tune In. The album contains features from Tory Lanez, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Afrojack and producer DaHeala. On March 31, 2017, a follow-up single "Done Da Da" was released along with a music video which received over 7.2 million views within 3 weeks on Vevo.
Artistry
Influences
Massari is fluent in English, Arabic, and French. He has been exposed to a wide variety of music styles. He says his biggest influence is George Wassouf Massari says, "I sing from my heart and George Wassouf taught me to do that."
Many of Massari's songs are influenced by his Middle-Eastern origins. Most of his songs contain Middle-Eastern Arabic melodies. Massari says, "Because of my background, my music is heavily influenced by Middle-Eastern melodies. Over the past few years so many artists are trying to bring Arabic styles into their music, but mine is authentic." Massari sings and raps about women. "My music is made for the ladies because that's where I get my inspiration. You'll notice a lot of the music is upbeat and positive. Women give off so much energy; it's hard not to be inspired by them."
Music style
Massari is known for his music and repping Parasuco (purchased from well-known Ontario clothing store International Clothiers) in his low-to-mid budget music videos. A large portion of Massari's work incorporates elements of both singing and rapping, depending on whether or not another artist is featured on the track. Overall, Massari incorporates elements of R&B, hip hop, and pop in his music.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | |||
| Massari |
|
29 |
|
| Forever Massari |
|
— | |
| Tune In |
|
— | |
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released. | |||
Extended plays
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Hero |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN |
AUT |
GER |
POR |
SUI |
ROM |
LEB | |||||||
| 2005 | "Smile for Me" | 18 | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | Massari | ||||
| "Be Easy" | 4 | — | 70 | 16 | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2006 | "Real Love" | 9 | — | 48 | 48 | — | — | — | |||||
| "Rush the Floor" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2008 | "Say You Love Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album singles | ||||
| "In Love Again" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2009 | "Bad Girl" | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Forever Massari | ||||
| "Body Body" | 81 | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2010 | "Under the Radar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2011 | "Dance for Your Life" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | ||||
| 2012 | "Full Circle" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hero | ||||
| "Brand New Day" | 41 | 26 | 29 | 24 | 24 | — | — |
| |||||
| 2013 | "Shisha" | 37 | — | — | 37 | — | — | — |
| ||||
| 2014 | "What About the Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2017 | "So Long" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | Tune In | ||||
| "Done Da Da" | — | — | — | 21 | — | 15 | 15 | ||||||
| "Number One" | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | 20 | ||||||
| 2018 | "Roll with It" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |||||
| "Why" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Tune In" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Ya Nour El Ein" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | TBA | |||||
| 2019 | "Albeh Nkasar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Soul on Fire" |
2006 | Soul on Fire |
| "Ya dunya" |
2007 | The Revolution |
| "Latin Moon" |
2011 | Devotion |
| "That Kinda Love" |
non-album single | |
| "La noche entera" |
2015 | non-album single |
| "Sherazade" |
2016 | non-album single |
| "Why" |
2018 | non-album single |
| "Asheghet manam" |
2018 | non-album single |
Awards/nominations
- 2005: Much Music Video Awards : Best Independent Video (Nominated)
- 2005: Much Vibe Best Rap Video (Nominated)
- 2005: Canadian Urban Music Awards : Best New Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (Nominated)
- 2006: Much Music Award : Best Director (Nominated)
- 2006: Best Cinematography (Nominated)
- 2006: Best Pop Video "Be easy" (Won)
- 2006: Best Independent Video "Be Easy" (Nominated)
- 2006: People's Choice Favorite Canadian Artist (Nominated)
- 2006: Juno Award R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (Nominated)
- 2013: SIRIUSXM Indie Awards Dance Artist of the Year (Won)
- 2014: Murex d'Or : World ClassCelebrities Of Lebanon Origin (Won)
- 2018: Massari & Mohammed Assaf - Roll With It