In 2001 Karim Nagi started the program Arabiqa, aimed to educate children and adults alike on Arabic culture through music and arts rather than through religion and politics.
These albums feature Karim's pioneering technique and unique aesthetic in mixing traditional Arabic sounds with hip hop, techno, and house.
Karim studied philosophy and psychology at Skidmore College, where he was heavily involved in theatre sound production and played guitar and drums in multiple bands on the side.
He studied with Nabil Ata and Midhat al-Rashidi (who performed regularly with Abdel Halim Hafez), Simon Shaheen, Michel Baqlouq (Fairuz ensemble), Dr. Alfred Gamil (Cairo Conservatory of Music) and Mohammed Al-Araby (percussionist for Umm Kulthum and The National Orchestra of Egypt).
[13] In the course of his work, including frequent invitations to teach workshops for dance and music studios, he has traveled to and taught on every continent (except Antarctica), in more than 20 countries.
[14] Karim Nagi has recorded four albums under the moniker of Turbo Tabla: Arabic Music Re-Imagined (2003), Bellydance Overdrive (2004), The Belly and the Beat (2006), and Unregulated (2010).
Two were released by The Miles Copeland Group (Sting, R.E.M., Hakim, Bellydance Superstars, Oojami) and are distributed internationally by Universal Records.
He also makes his first extended foray into vocals on the original track "The Mash of Civilizations," in which he samples several recognizable non-Arab tunes and themes, combines them with Arabic instruments and overlays his spoken word message about cultural collaboration.
Utilizing samples, tabla, riq, sagat, hand-clapping, and even voice (at times reminiscent of bol (music)), he builds short songs entirely upon a single Arab rhythm or rhythmatic concept.
The tracks incorporate cultural context audible to the trained ear and are meant to be mixed and matched, enabling listeners and performers to create their own drum solos.
[18] In 2008 he was nominated for the Zaghareet Awards (for those involved in Middle Eastern dance and music in the United States) in the Category of Favorite Musician.
He is sought after for his musicality and intuitive accompaniment skill on the riq, regularly being invited to perform with DC-based band Ana Masry[23] and for the Jawaahir Dance Company in Minneapolis[24] He is also the founder and director of the Sharq Ensemble.
This three-day event immerses students in the language, music, social and political context of dances from different parts of the Arab world.
He created Arabiqa, a program he presents in schools around the country in order to bring Arabic music and arts closer to children.
The beauty and authenticity of Arabic music and dance serve as a convincing demonstration of the simultaneous exoticism and familiarity of this ancient culture".
[32] With Club Passim in Cambridge, Karim Nagi began the work of connecting the Arab-American diaspora to each other as well as to their traditional culture.