Iranian hip-hop
Hip hop emerged within Iran in the late 1990s, when a few Iranians started translating American gangsta rap into Persian and spread recordings of these songs on the internet.
[8][10] In the early 2000s, rap music did not enjoy huge popularity yet within Iran and the emerging hip hop scene consisted of a relatively small community of artists based in several Iranian cities.
[11] Because of the illegal status of rap in Iran, these tracks had to be circulated through unofficial channels, which sometimes required artists to get creative: Yas and Hichkas for example, two rappers who belong to the 'first generation' of Iranian hip hop, have recounted how they would throw their CDs through the windows of cars waiting at traffic lights.
[13][14] During the Green Movement that erupted after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 re-election, a widespread crackdown on artistic expression occurred that targeted those who had participated in or supported the protests.
[7] Hip hop music, perceived and portrayed by the government as a morally degrading import from the West, falls in this category and is thus mostly prohibited in Iran.
All artists in Iran are obliged to submit their productions to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for approval, which almost never deems hip hop tracks appropriate for release.
[17] Rap music and the surrounding hip hop culture that emerged in Iran in the early 20th century defied the country's traditional Islamic conventions and customs.
Due to the inclusion of taboo topics and the use of slang and swearing, hip hop is labeled as subversive and morally corrupting by the traditional segments of Iranian society.
[11] Rapper Bahram Nouraei has vocalized his dissatisfaction with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration in his 2008 breakthrough song Nameye Be Raees Jomhour ("A letter to the President").
[18] Hip hop artists have pointed to the directness inherent in rap music to explain the suitability of the genre as a platform for social and religious critique.
His arrest attracted attention from international media outlets, with human rights organizations warning that it is unlikely Salehi or any of the many detained protesters will receive a fair trial.
[24] Salehi's songs are socially engaged and have explicitly criticized Iran's government, tackling topics such as poverty, women's inequality, human rights violations and corruption.
In Meydoone Jang, Salehi calls upon his listeners to take part in the uprising, showing clips from the Mahsa Amini protests in the song's music video.
[26] In the music video released for Faal, Salehi is seen rapping his lyrics, in which he predicts the end of the Islamic regime, to a man with a concealed face representing the country's ruling system.
[27] Saman Yasin (Persian: سامان یاسین), a Kurdish dissident rapper who condemns oppression and inequality in his works, was arrested violently in October 2022 due to his support for the Mahsa Amini protests.
[28] According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Yasin has been severely mistreated and tortured in order to gain a forced confession, and it has been reported that he tried to take his own life in jail.
[7] In Persian hip hop, these taboo themes tend to be discussed with a view to their broader societal and economic implications, taking on a layer of social or political critique.
[13][14] The band quickly gained a huge popularity among the youth, due mainly to their use of explicit lyrics, littered with profanity and depictions of sex and drug use.
[38][39] He reached national fame through his song CD ro Beshkan ("Break the Disk"), which was written about an Iranian actress who was subjected to a sex tape scandal.
