An Intro To Rebel Hip-Hop Of The Arab Revolutions

November 19, 2012 12:10 PM

An Intro To Rebel Hip-Hop Of The Arab Revolutions
posted by Cloud King (6 comments total)

Other great tracks:

Mohamed Ali Ben Jemaa - Ana Fhemtkom (Tunisian)

Lotfi Double Kanon - 7oukouma [translated lyrics] (Algerian)

Revolutionary Arab Rap: The Index is a great side for finding more of these along with translations.
posted by atrazine at 1:06 PM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's a free and legal mixtape featuring many of the artists mentioned in the article.
posted by rollbiz at 1:35 PM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Khalas mixtape was posted earlier. Unfortunately the main site went down.
posted by dragoon at 2:02 PM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, those are great
posted by Cloud King at 2:57 PM on November 19, 2012

Awesome, thank you for posting it.

I'd be interested to hear what these musicians grew up listening to. American rap? French rap?
posted by feets at 4:30 PM on November 19, 2012

Not on any of these lists but Touffar are a pair of Lebanese rappers from the Hermel-Baalbeck region which I think are the most interesting of the bunch.

Touffar - Al Wasa5 lTijare - I wish I could find a decent translation of this one.

A couple of articles on them:

Al Akhbar - Rebel Rap from the Outlaws of Hermel

Touffar is a Lebanese expression that refers to outlaws and fugitives who escape to the hills in order to escape capture.

The group’s songs don’t shy away from tearing down what may be considered sacred in polite Lebanese society. They point the finger at the rich and powerful, accusing them of creating the misery that drives the poor and marginalized to a life of crime.

Angry Arab - Tuffar Rappers from Ba`albak

Tuffar characterizes a movement associated with the Ja`far clan in Ba`albak and champions the poor and neglected in the region.

Esquire Middle East - Fight The Power [pdf]

“There’s no difference between them and Britney Spears,” responds Nasserdyn “commercial rap is s***. Rap isn’t Snoop Dogg. Rap isn’t about money and bitches.”
For Jaafar and Nasserdyn, rap has always been about resistance – an out to vent frustrations, to subvert the government and to bring about change. While they insist that their sound is not inspired by anybody in particular, they speak of older American rap music, written by frustrated African-American youth in the ghettos. This was long before before American rap turned more towards lyrics about dollar bills and swimming pools filled with girls in bikinis.
“Rap music is fight music,” explains Jaafar.

posted by xqwzts at 1:35 AM on November 20, 2012