Many prominent Arab hip-hop artists inspired by uprisings in
the Middle East and North Africa have released music in solidarity with protesters
in the region. Though the messages of these new songs are not necessarily new
to Arab hip-hop, the urgency and relevance of this new music has gained these
artists increasing international attention.

The Narcicyst.

While Arab hip-hop started to gain its recognition in the
90s, tracing back the history can be difficult in light of the fact that it
stems from such a complex fusion of diasporic communities, people, art and
culture. In North America, for instance, artists such as Fredwreck and The
Narcicyst are cited as pioneers of Arab hip-hop, while groups such as DAM are
credited with jump-starting the movement in Palestine.

In a conversation with Excentrik, an East Bay music
producer, “actionist” (action activist and oud player), he explained,
“Yeah, there’s an Arab hip-hop scene, but it’s a global scene, it’s not
like a localized scene. Unfortunately, there’s not enough cats doing quality
shit that have like a [single] place to go in any of these cities… It’s an
esoteric scene, it’s random because it’s so big and so spread apart.”
While there are certainly active indigenous Arab hip-hop scenes throughout much
of North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of the most celebrated emcees
in the global scene are based in North America and Europe, where hip-hop has
had a longer history and faces less challenges in terms of censorship.

That said, artists still find opportunities to collaborate
and work together across both national and international lines. “Most of
us Arab rappers are very well connected,” said Rush of Cairo’s premier rap
group, Arabian Knightz. Collaborations between rappers can be recorded from
different studios and files can be shared with the click of a mouse. “The
combination of hip-hop and the Internet, and the ability to record it and put
it up online immediately and bypass all these typical media outlets and typical
industry outlets is what makes it so powerful,” explained Syrian-American
rapper Omar Offendum in a phone interview from Los Angeles.

In North America, Iraqi-Canadian rapper, The Narcicyst and
Omar Offendum are two of the most highly acclaimed emcees in the global Arab
hip-hop scene. Omar Offendum often evokes the work of Arab poets through his
lyrics, emphasizing the links between poetry and hip-hop. The Narcicyst, who
recently released a book entitled “Fear of an Arab Planet: The Diatribes
of a Dying Tribe,” touches on themes ranging from Orientalism to homeland
security in his music. One of his most popular songs, ‘P.H.A.T.W.A.’ released
in 2009, is set in an airport. “We went from, supported to subordinate,
can’t afford it, ordered / My motherland smothered and mortared, morbid, at
borders / I’m sorted out from beardless cats that boarded the plane as I was
boarding,” The Narcicyst raps.

Shadia Mansour.

The UK also boasts some of the world’s most recognized Arab
rap artists such as Lowkey, who is of British and Iraqi heritage, and
Palestinian rapper, Shadia Mansour, also known as “The First Lady of
Arabic Hip-Hop.” Both are known for linking artistry and activism, rapping
about topics such as Palestinian resistance, occupation and terrorism.
“They calling me a terrorist / Like they don’t know who the terror is /
When they put it on me, I tell them this / I’m all about peace and love / They
calling me a terrorist / Like they don’t know who the terror is / Insulting my
intelligence / Oh how these people judge,” raps Lowkey in the song
“Terrorist.” Together, they have toured extensively and collaborated
on titles such as “Long Live Palestine” which incorporates Mansour’s
distinctive Arabic flow and emotive singing voice.

Rapping in the Middle East

In Tunisia, a young emcee by the name of El Général was
among the first in the Arab hip-hop scene to gain international attention for
his raps related to the most recent waves of political unrest in North Africa.
He released two songs “Rais Le Bled” (President Your People Are
Dying) and “Tounes Bladna” (Tunisia, Our Country) which were both
included on the Mish B3eed mixtape put out by ‘Enough,’ a Libyan movement
voicing dissent against the Gadhafi regime.

Omar Offendum.

According to The UK’s Observer newspaper, “Rais Le
Bled,” released in November 2010 “lit up the bleak and fearful
horizon like an incendiary bomb,” reaching audiences around the world
through new media platforms such as YouTube. “My president, your country
is dead / People eat garbage / Look at what is happening / Misery everywhere /
Nowhere to sleep / I’m speaking for the people who suffer,” he raps in
Arabic. The song was quickly banned in Tunisia, but Al Jazeera Television and
Tunivision were still able to pick up on the El Général story followed by other
notable media outlets such as TIME magazine. Shortly thereafter, the release of
“Tounes Bladna” (Tunisia, Our Country) resulted in the 21-year-old
rapper’s arrest from his family’s flat in the town of Sfax in Tunisia. El
Général was released after three days of interrogation thanks to an outpouring
of public protest in his favor.

The January 25 uprisings in Egypt sparked a second wave of
protest music from the global Arab hip-hop scene, fueling an outpour from
prominent artists such as The Narcicyst, Shadia Mansour, Lowkey and Omar
Offendum. This time, the songs would be multinational collaborations,
incorporating news clips from Al Jazeera and photos from demonstrations in the
music videos.

On February 4, just weeks after the January 25
demonstrations, Egyptian rap group Arabian Knightz posted the song “Not
Your Prisoner” featuring Shadia Mansour and Palestinian-American producer,
Fredwreck, on YouTube. Lyrics alternate between English and Arabic, opening the
dialogue to a larger international audience. “Destructive destruction,
running my district / Antichrist running it, spittin’ evil wisdom!” raps
Rush (one of three members in the group). The song became an instant YouTube
success, accruing thousands of views within 24 hours of being posted.

When asked in a Skype interview about the role of their
music in bringing about social change, Rush replied, “The people who
started the revolution are teenagers. I doubt that the motive of the
revolution, the music they were listening to while planning all these things,
was ‘habibi’ music. I am sure it was hip-hop.” The ‘habibi’ music Rush
refers to can be described as sentimental, easy-listening pop that is
widespread in Arabic media channels. That music, according to many Arab hip-hop
artists, fails to address the real concerns of youth on the front lines of
protest throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The North American connection

A few days later, North American artists The Narcicyst, Omar
Offendum, Freeway, Ayah, Amir Sulaiman and producer, Sami Matar, contributed to
the dialogue with a collaboration entitled “#Jan25.” The song, posted
on YouTube, has drawn nearly 200,000 views, and even caught the attention of Al
Jazeera, which interviewed Omar Offendum shortly after the song was released.

“I heard ’em say / The revolution won’t be televised /
Al Jazeera proved ’em wrong / Twitter has ’em paralyzed / 80 million strong /
And ain’t no longer gonna be terrorized / Organized – Mobilized – Vocalized /
On the side of TRUTH,” raps Omar Offendum in the opening verse of the
song. The use of graphic Al Jazeera news clips and gorilla photography
throughout much of the music video illustrates the grassroots nature of the
Arab hip-hop scene, using a combination of audio and visual media to
communicate their message to a growing audience of listeners.

In the meantime, mounting tensions in Libya inspired
26-year-old Chicago rapper M. Khaled to release a music video entitled
“Can’t Take Our Freedom,” featuring UK rapper, Lowkey. The first
lines of

the chorus, “You can’t take our freedom, or take our
soul / Take our freedom or take our soul / You are not the one that’s in
control / You are not the one that’s in control,” sum up the overall
message of the song speaking to the Gadhafi regime.

“It was never my intention to be a political rapper, or
write political songs,” said M. Khaled in an interview with Arab Detroit
News. Even so, this most recent release has become one of his most popular
tracks to date. This song also seems to tie back to the legacy of his father,
Mohamed Ahmed, who was reportedly held as a political prisoner in Libya for
five years after leading student protests against the Gadhafi regime.
“Like, could we be this close? Nah, couldn’t be / But if the people in
Egypt and Tunis could do this, decide their fate…then why wouldn’t we?”
raps M. Khaled.

Although the original music video for “Can’t Take Our
Freedom” was removed from YouTube for reasons that are not entirely clear,
several fans have reposted the song using their own personal online accounts.
In addition to gaining popularity online, the song attracted the attention of
media outlets such as ABC World News and CNN that profiled the story of the
young rapper.

The solidarity rap

Each of these new protest songs in their own way illustrates
a collective consciousness around growing political unrest in the Middle East
and North Africa among artists in the Arab hip-hop scene. Solidarity with
protesters is the central theme that runs throughout much of this new music.
This solidarity is also reflected in the collaborative nature of many of these
pieces featuring hip-hop artists who are spread across different cities and
continents. Even on a local front, Bay Area hip-hop pioneer Davey D released a “Beats
for Revolution Mixtape” that features “Not Your Prisoner” and
“#Jan25,” alongside the sounds of Dead Prez, Public Enemy and
Immortal Technique.

As political unrest continues to unfold throughout much of
the Middle East and North Africa, many Arab hip-hop artists are optimistic, but
cautious. “One thing governments cannot take away from the people is the
will to live,” wrote Lebanese-Armenian Bay Area rap artist Tru Bloo in an
e-mail. “I think we, in the U.S., have a lot to learn from these
movements,” she added.

“There is a hopefulness and a sobering feeling,”
said Oakland-based Lebanese American soul singer, Naima Shalhoub, of the
ongoing events.

Still, artists involved in the Arab hip-hop scene remain
inspired by the significance that music has in motivating and empowering youth.
“The way kids listen to music is a really powerful thing,” said
London-based rapper Logic after his concert at the University of California,
Berkeley with Shadia Mansour and Lowkey last month.

Realizing the power that their music has to speak to youth
in the face of adversity, Arab hip-hop artists do not take their work lightly.
“Music plays a big role in influencing people,” said The Narcicyst,
“and I almost think for our generation… music speaks to us louder than
politics does.”