DEARBORN/ANN ARBOR — It may seem that hip hop and museum culture couldn’t be further apart, but recording artist Khaled M. is used to breaking down barriers.

The Chicago-based son of a Libyan revolutionary is equally adept whether he’s rapping on deep, political tracks in support of revolutions in the Arab World or classic, pulse-pumping hip hop tracks that are more about slick lyricism than anything else.

Khaled M. was one of many “conscious” rappers who joined in on the highly successful ‘Gaza Strip to Detroit’ concert last February in Dearborn.

The emcee, who has been listed as one of CNN’s Most Interesting People and has been featured featured on CNN, NPR, ABC World News, Yahoo! News and more as he’s embraced the role of both entertainer at shows and political commentator, will be joined by fellow performer Khaled The Comic for three shows this weekend including one in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and two in Dearborn at the Arab American National Museum.

The performance will be held under the ‘HaHa-HipHop’ banner, a show that combines both comedy and music in a unique way. HaHa-HipHop is a collaborative performance between comedians and hip hop artists geared towards creating dialogue on social issues. Performances include two equal portions of stand-up comedy and hip hop music by nationally recognized and local artists.

“HaHa-HipHop is going to be an exciting collaborative effort between comedy and music which will entertain and provoke thought,” Khaled the Comic said. 

The Ann Arbor show will take place at the Great Lakes Building at the Palmer Commons Building on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. while the two Dearborn shows will take place at 7 and 9 p.m. sharp on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tickets are $20-25 and available on the site Eventbrite.com by searching the name ‘Khaled’, by phone, or at the door if demand is not exceeded.

Khaled M. was one of many “conscious” rappers who joined in on the highly successful ‘Gaza Strip to Detroit’ concert last February in Dearborn, where he met the immensely popular British-Iraqi rapper Lowkey and used their meeting as a springboard to a collaboration for the song ‘Can’t Take Our Freedom,’ which has received tens of thousands of views on Youtube and features riveting and at times graphic footage of the Libyan revolution in order to provide a sense of the sacrifice of the opposition in their hard fought bid to oust Muammar Gaddafi from power.

Khaled M. said he was excited about his return to the Detroit area. 

“I’m blessed to be a part of HaHa-HipHop, which will offer audiences a fresh alternative. We’re approaching these shows like a Vegas event, where people of all backgrounds and interests can come and have a great time. People should be prepared to be blown away.” 

The museum also hosted fellow ‘Gaza Strip to Detroit’ performer and Syrian hip hop artist Omar Offendum back in September. 

The two performances stand as a testament to the social power of hip hop as an art form and a means for bringing about social awareness and change, which was the original intent of the art before corporate interests latched onto it in the eyes of many artists.

Manager Darrin Rich said that Khaled M. has the unique ability to bring people together and to entertain all types of crowds while educating at the same time. 

“He has meaningful content but at the same time he basically alienates no one with his brand,” he said. “If you listen to his music and songs, yeah he’s Arab but anyone can relate to him, even someone from Michigan who has no clue about the Arab World for example.”