Author: Monsafe

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Monsafe covers entertainment from a position that most writers in the region can't: someone who is genuinely obsessed with it. As Entertainment Editor at What's Hot in UAE, he writes about the streaming releases, album drops, celebrity moves, and cultural moments that cut through the noise — and explains why they matter to an audience based in the UAE.His work spans the full width of the entertainment landscape. Jay-Z's discography in the context of a Dubai audience. The arrival of a major Netflix series on a Friday when half the country has nothing to do. A concert rumour that needs separating from a confirmed date. Monsafe brings the kind of detail and direct opinion that turns a news item into a read worth sharing.He approaches entertainment journalism the way the best of it works: with a clear perspective, no corporate caution, and a genuine interest in the subject matter. Based in Dubai, he has been covering UAE pop culture and global entertainment since 2022 and maintains a close eye on what the regional audience responds to — which is rarely what international outlets expect. He's also been one of the country's leading DJ names for the last fifteen years, winning a multitude of national awards with his alias, Smokingroove.Find his DJ work at smokingroove.co.uk, on SoundCloud, and on Mixcloud.

Artists

Jixo & Danz: Dubai’s Back-to-Back House Music Duo

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Some DJ partnerships are assembled for convenience. Jixo & Danz is not one of them. Daniel Jahed and Daniel Azar — Jixo and Danz respectively — have been friends since their school days in Beirut, and have been playing back-to-back since 2001. That history is audible in every set. The synchronicity that most DJ duos spend years trying to manufacture comes naturally to them, because it was never manufactured in the first place. From Beirut to Dubai The duo’s roots in Beirut’s music scene gave them an education that goes beyond most. Lebanon’s underground club culture — centred around legendary…

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Artists

Smokingroove: Dubai’s House Music Institution

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Few names carry as much weight in the UAE’s underground house music scene as Smokingroove. With a career spanning three decades, a catalogue of over 160 releases, and a reputation built on dancefloors from London to Dubai, Smokingroove is one of the most enduring acts in UAE nightlife — and one of its most internationally credentialed. Origins: London’s Pirate Radio Underground Smokingroove was born out of the mid-1990s London pirate radio scene, one of the most fertile breeding grounds for electronic music talent in the world. Broadcasting from stations including Freek FM, Unknown, and House FM, the act built an…

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Artists

Darko De Jan: The Sound Architect of Dubai’s Luxury Nightlife

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Darko De Jan is one of Dubai’s most recognisable names in electronic music — a DJ, producer, and music curator who traded a law degree for the dancefloor and never looked back. Since arriving in Dubai in 2009, he has helped define the sonic identity of the emirate’s high-end nightlife, building a career that stretches from UAE residencies to international chart placings and a weekly radio show broadcast to a global audience. From Law School to the Dancefloor Darko De Jan holds a law degree — a fact that makes his career pivot all the more deliberate. This wasn’t a…

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News

Nol Card Guide: Types, Top-Up, Balance Check, Renewal and More

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The Nol card is Dubai’s universal transit payment card — used across the metro, buses, trams, water taxis, and even some car parks. If you live in Dubai and use public transport at all, you need one. Here is the complete guide, from picking the right card type to replacing a lost one. What Is a Nol Card? Nol is the RTA’s (Roads and Transport Authority) contactless smart card for Dubai’s public transport network. Rather than buying single-use tickets for each journey, you load credit onto your Nol card and tap in and out at metro gates, bus stops, tram…

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