The Israeli hip-hop duo Kafe Shahor Hazak (Strong Black Coffee) has been personally selected to open American R&B singer Chris Brown's concert in Israel next week. The duo consists of Ethiopian-born musicians Ilak Sahalu, 25, and Uri Alamo, 23 - cousins who immigrated to Israel as children and were raised in Netanya. Brown was introduced to the group, Channel 2 reports, after one of his producers saw a segment on Kafe Shahor Hazak's connection to recent protests from Ethiopian-Israeli community against racism. "I saw the band in the news segment and I believed that Chris Brown would be delighted to invite them to appear with him," the producer said. "We made contact between Chris Brown and the producers and he asked to know everything about the band." A source involved in the performance said that "what moved him [Brown] was the involvement of the community, the recent protests, and especially this band he saw in the segment. As soon as he saw that, he chose them personally." "I'm very excited, it's a great honor to perform with a successful American singer," Sahalu told Channel 2. "No one is happier than us and we will do what we know best - music." The concert will be held at the Rishon Lezion Amphitheater on Monday, July 27.
