Arabic hip-hop
According to a 2007 report, "more than 85 percent of urban households in the Arab world have satellite television," a forum that has expanded to include music channels such as MTV Arabia which "[at the time] plan[ned] to offer a hefty dose of [mainly western] hip-hop and much of the same youth-lifestyle programming MTV beams across the U.S."[8] Although it is unclear whether or not there is a separate and distinct female Arabic hip-hop genre, artists such as Shadia Mansour from Palestine and Malikah from Lebanon, are very eloquent in the Arabic Hip-Hop art form, then we have the Egyptian EmpresS *1 the "First Female Egyptian Rapper" in Egypt that is more on the African tip giving credit to both her North African and Middle Eastern roots.
[citation needed] Much of the hip-hop generated in the Arab World deals with a mix of social circumstances, such as poverty, violence, and drug use, as well as political reality, insofar as this is possible given censorship.
[14] True to form, the Hip-Hop of occupied Palestine evokes themes of struggle and resistance as artists lay beats about drugs, violence, and the daily oppression they face under Occupation.
Reminiscent of the multiple messages voiced through American Hip-Hop and Rap, artists in Palestine use music as a means to unify people who share common struggles.
The Arab Spring, in particular, as a revolutionary movement affecting numerous states, including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, elicited musical responses from emergent or formerly repressed hip-hop artists.
[16] Hip-hop music that emerged from the Arab Spring movements, though directly influenced by particular social and political realities, transcended borders and resonated throughout the region.
In France, for example, much of the "socially critical" music focuses on "migration related problems such as discrimination, xenophobia, and the problematic identities of young people of foreign descent.
"[11] Furthermore, these artists deal with the government enforced impetus for assimilation "coupled with the age-old stereotypes rooted in colonial references and the stigma of the marginalized banlieue.
"[3] Arabic hip-hop artists in the west, particularly Great Britain and North America, who also deal with racism and marginalization in their content, specifically mention an experience of "doubleness" – internal conflict between traditional and modern culture.
[18] The view of mainstream America towards the Arab population, domestically and worldwide, and military intervention in the MENA region factor prominently in Arab-American hip-hop and other western forms.
[19] On the other extreme, Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, whose father Abu Hamza al-Masri is in prison on terrorism charges, uses hip-hop to express solidarity with groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, as well as to glorify violent Jihad.
His message is different from other opposition rappers who have gained popularity in the genre insofar as he explicitly establishes his credentials by referencing his military skill and ability to cause violence.
As of 2008, concerts and nightclubs were non-existent in the Kingdom, and local radio and TV played mainly Arabic pop music (all state enforced policies).
This phenomenon is not restricted to Saudi Arabia however, as relatively liberal Kuwait joined them in banning the group Desert Heat's first album despite their "pro-Muslim" message and "cautious approach to religion, politics, and society".
Abdullah Dahman of Desert Heat offers an example of west coast rapper Snoop Dogg, whose records are available for purchase in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
[22] Hip-hop music from the Arab Spring movement presented direct challenges to the strict censorship policies of many regimes throughout the Middle East and North African region.
The song was an attack on the former authoritarian ruler, Zine El Abidine Ben-Ali, and the poor conditions in the state, including poverty, unemployment, and political and social injustices.
Following the suicide attempt by Mohammed Bouazizzi in Sidi Bouzzid, Tunisia, which prompted the revolutionary movement, El General's music was used in ensuing demonstrations.
[28] The hip hop major outbreak in Yemen is often associated to the influence of Hagage "AJ" Masaed, an American-Yemeni rapper producing music since 1997.
Although he had grown in the United States, AJ has successfully reached Yemeni audience by addressing to local issues and incorporating traditional musical language into his hits.
[30] that has been providing assets to the development of a contemporary music scene[31] In 2009, took place the first Yemeni Rap public festival, co-sponsored by the French and German foreign-missions[32] Due to the importance of this event, AJ draws a comparison between it and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Since their arrival in Europe as refugees, the group has performed in several festivals and participated in several artistic and associated projects (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway).
(2015 Summer Camps (Rennes), Warm-up Roskilde Festival (Denmark 2017), IMA Institut du Monde Arabe 2017 Poetry Night, Fête de l'Humanité 2016 2017 etc..).
Throughout their career, the group has attracted the interest of several media such as Rolling Stone magazine, the World, BBC or ARTE, Vice, Konbini,[34] The Guardian,[35] Radio France, TV5 Complex.
