Karpe

Biography

Karpe (previously known as Karpe Diem between 2000 and 2018) is a Norwegian rap group from Oslo, consisting of Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid (b. 1984) and Chirag Rashmikant Patel (b. 1984).

Biography

Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, of mixed Egyptian/Norwegian origin, was born on 3 June 1984 in Oslo to an Egyptian father and a Norwegian mother from Stryn Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county. Chirag Rashmikant Patel, of Indian origin, was born on 20 July 1984 in Lørenskog Municipality. His Indian father immigrated from Uganda and Chirag grew up in Oslo. His mother originates from Anand, India.
Magdi and Chirag first met in 1998 in the Oslo Handelsgymnasium, where they were both studying and making music individually. The duo was formed in 2000.
The duo has released eight albums and won a number of awards, including 13 Spellemannprisen awards, making them, together with the Oslo Philharmonic, the most awarded act in the history of the prize.

2004–now

Karpe's debut release, Glasskår EP in 2004, was a commercial success, and the titular single "Glasskår" peaked at No. 9 on VG-lista, the Norwegian Albums Chart, becoming certified Gold after remaining on the chart for 6 weeks. Their debut studio album was Rett fra hjertet×Rett fra hjertet12 June 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Rett fra hjertet2:552Piano3:593Galskap3:074Identitet som dreper5:095Fem om morningen2:456Hat & Love4:377Eksamen3:428Hørt det før3:189Kampen mot klokka2:4110Rigveda 10.904:4011Show4:0512Déjà vu4:50, released in 2006. It reached No. 10 on VG-lista and sold 18,000 copies. The band got nominated for "Best Album" in Spellemannprisen in 2006 and won the Norwegian Alarmprisen in 2007. Their 2008 album Fire Vegger×Fire vegger29 September 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Stjerner2:492Regnvær3:273Fire vegger3:254Vestkantsvartinga (m/ Pumba)3:465Under overflaten (som Marit Larsen)3:236OK2:477Kaffe3:468Krølla 50-lapp y'all2:539Skavanker (m/ Dr. S)4:1410Få som vet4:0211Solskinn3:3412Fireogtyvegods3:0113Fly, Baba (m/ Ras Steven)3:59 was an even bigger success. The album sold more than 30,000 copies and reached No. 3 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. Aldri solgt en løgn, their third and biggest album, topped the Norwegian charts and won them the prestigious Spellemannprisen award as "Best Hip Hop album", with the single "Ruter" winning "Best hit of the year". Other accolades for the album included the official Bendiksenprisen award, Sigval Bergesen d.y.'s honorary "Almennyttige Ærespris" award and international recognition as "Best Norwegian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards in 2010. They were once again the recipients of Spellemannprisen 2012 in the category Pop music, for the album Kors på halsen, ti kniver i hjertet, mor og far i døden. In November 2013 Karpe received the P3 award on the P3 radio station's first music award show, P3 Gull at Sentrum Scene in Oslo.
In October 2015, they launched a brand new musical project called Heisann Montebello. Nine songs were released over two years, each one with their own ambitious music video. The project was awarded the Spellemannprisen 2016 in the categories Best Urban Act and Album of the Year. They were even nominated in the categories Best Songwriter and Best Music Video for "Den islamske elefanten", directed by Thea Hvistendahl.

The Monkey & The Mouth

The duo went on a Norway tour before they announced that they would play three shows at the Oslo Spektrum Arena in April 2017. All 27,000 tickets were sold in a matter of hours. The three shows turned out to be the core of "The Monkey & The Mouth", a full-length experimental movie directed by Thea Hvistendahl. It was viewed by 52,000 people during its limited four-day theatrical release in December 2017, and revolves around the visual and musical universe created by the band. The music videos for "Heisann Montebello×Heisann Montebello16 October 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Au pair4:112Hvite menn som pusher 503:573Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din4:524Hus/hotell/slott brenner4:325Attitudeproblem3:176Den islamske elefanten4:067Gunerius4:21" introduced two characters: The Monkey (Chirag/Entertainment) and the Mouth (Magdi/Art).
The film is a fusion of concert and fiction that together constitutes a "never before seen" hybrid of music video/live-concert/fiction film. "The Monkey and The Mouth" was awarded the Amanda award 2018 and the Kanonprisen at the Norwegian Kosmorama Film Festival in the Production Design category. It was also part of the official selection at the Tallinn Film Festival 2018, CPH PIX Film Festival, Gothenburg Film Festival 2018 and it is appointed critics choice at Tromsø International Film Festival 2019.

2019–2026

In 2019 they released the EP Sas Plus/Sas Pussy×Sas Plus/Sas Pussy22 February 2019 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1SAS PUSSY3:412مونا الحسين3:/4ZALIL5§ 3936MOSCOT & DIOR7دودي الفايد8SYREANGREP + :(9LOCK Nʼ LOAD10RAMSTADSLETTA + :)11BLOD, HOMIE12فاروق القاسم13HESSELBERGS GATE 2, 3717 SKIEN14DODI I EN HOODIE. The EP was released as one 29 minutes and 47 seconds long track. They were rewarded Spellemannprisen 2019 in the category Album of the year for their efforts. In addition to this, they were nominated in the categories Urban and Songwriter of the year. In December 2019 they made two huge and very different announcements. They announced ten shows in Oslo Spektrum Arena in August 2021 (postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic), and at the same time they invited 100 lucky fans to an experience called SAS Skien. SAS Skien took place in Festiviteten in the town of Skien, Norway – a historical building with a total of 114 rooms that Karpe bought in 2018.
Everyone that bought a ticket to one of the concerts in Oslo Spektrum, could apply to be part of a one of a kind experience in the mysterious house. In October 2020 a total of 100 fans were invited into Festiviteten in Skien – 20 people each night, for five nights. The details surrounding the experience were kept secret. Media was not allowed inside and all the guests had to leave their cellphones at the door.
August 17, 2020 Karpe established the Patel & Abdelmaguid Foundation. In doing so they gave away their master rights and revenue from all of their previous releases, six studio albums and various EPs and singles, to causes relating to assistance for refugees, asylum seekers or immigrants. There are no specific requirements set for the size or catchment area of the projects that receive funds. Both worldwide projects and small local projects are eligible, as long as its work is carried out in accordance with the Fund's overarching objectives. The first fund allocation took place in March 2022.
In January 2022, they released the film loop Omar Sheriff, and with it presented their new EP.
In August 2022, Karpe sold out Oslo Spektrum 10 times, with a total of 110,000 attendees. The show reached Variety magazine, which compared the duo to Kanye West and The Weeknd.
In 2024, Karpe released "Piya Piya Calling" together with Kaifi Khalil, Delara and dance group the Quick Style, as part of the fifteenth season of Coke Studio Pakistan, the first time the show had collaborated with a Scandinavian act.
On 28 April 2026, Karpe announced on Instagram that they would retire after their final tour in 2028. The same night, they released the archival project OVERTIME/OVERKILL (Vol. 1, 2, 3 & 7), containing 62 tracks.
In the summer of 2026, Karpe organised the festival Karpe World at Ekebergsletta in Oslo on 2–4 July. Tickets sold out within nine minutes when sales opened on 18 September 2025. More than 100,000 people attended the festival over the three days, with around 35,000 attendees each night.

Popular culture

Norway's Gujarati Rockstar, a documentary released in 2023, explores the musical journey and Gujarati roots of Chirag Patel.