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Arabic hip hop

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Arabic hip hop is hip hop music and culture originating in the Arabic-speaking world. It is performed in Arabic, and local Arabic dialects, English, French, Berber languages (Tamazight) and Hebrew. Like most artists of the genre, the artists from the Arab World are highly influenced by American hip hop.

Also considered part of Arabic hip hop are the rappers of Arab origin in the Arab diaspora including in Europe, North America, Australia. These rappers are at times well-renowned far behind their appeal to Arab audiences and are considered successful intrenational rap acts.

Hip hop music is highly popular almost everywhere in the Middle East, the Gulf and Northern Africa. It is played on radio stations and shown on TV stations, but live hip hop performances has only begun in the 1990s. Many hip hop groups are still underground, because their views and criticism of politics could lead to government censure. Therefore, the internet has been a major outlet for most groups. Hip hop music is played on the radio stations and shown on TV stations in Arab countries, but performing it has begun only recently. It is widely claimed that a Palestinian group called DAM began the movement but in fact, the MWR (from Akko) released the first hip hop single in Arabic called "Ashanak Arabi" (Because you an Arab).[citation needed]

Algeria

Main article: Algerian hip hop

Algerian hip hop is one of the renowned Arabic hip hop types because its roots lie in French hip hop. Many French rappers originated from Africa, and of those, most from Algeria.

The Algerian MBS, created in the late 1980s is considered the most popular Algerian rap group. Another group, is Intik that mixes different type of music and languages. Thoses crews have almost the same theme of lyrics - Algerian politics.

Bahrain

Main article: Bahraini hip hop

In Bahrain, the hiphop scene has risen dramatically over the past few years. DJ Outlaw and Outlaw Productions are the most prominent, performing and organizing concerts, although there are others, such as Dboy, Moneymar, Chillin, Tiny'O.

BahrainTalent.com is a site dedicated to showcasing upcoming hiphop Bahraini artists.

Egypt

Main article: Egyptian hip hop

In the past it was very rare to hear Arabic hip-hop and rap in Egypt. The pioneering Egyptian rap crew was MTM. They put Egyptian rap into the spotlight releasing two albums: Omy Mesafra (My Mother is Travelling) in 2001, and Telephony Peyren (My Phone is Ringing) in 2003.

Egyptian underground rap is now growing rapidly, due to the feeling of injustice that mainly affects youths in Egypt, with two rap groups called egyrap school and black bullets who are popular in Egyptian hip-hop/rap society. There is a lot of coverage of the Egyptian rap scene on EgyRap.net site.

More recent and very popular hip hop performers include Jaffa Phonix, founded in 2003 by two Palestinian refugees in Egypt, is an electro/hop band using Palestinian Arabic. The Arabian Knightz and Asfalt have also been gaining popularity. Also worthy for mention are acts like Black Bulletz who are gaining great popularity headed by MC Flash and Blaze. Another signed rapper is Karim Naguib. He started to record songs and released his first album, L'Wahdy (Alone), in 2007. StiF Say (Wael) is a Egyptian rapper.

The Underground Egyptian hip hop world is flourishing with the first signed rapper from the Underground Society Rappers being Omar Boflot who won first place at the MTV Arabia competition "Hip-Hopna". He is also the most famous rapper in Egypt. Many other bands and single rappers take part in it.

Egyptian hip hop underground producers such as Smokin' are very famous to their oriental hip hop instrumentals and songs, Mohamed ibrahim also known as smokin' is a hip hop music producer that produced to many hip hop artists is also producing for his crew which called "zilzal" the crew is from north sinai, Egypt is known for their self titled song and their album "hazza ardiya" means "earth quake".

There is also an active Egyptian rapper, named LaLaZeZo, who has the rights for Arabic Rap Kings Mixtapes. This is the first time in the world that albums containing songs for the Arabic Underground Rappers have been released.

Another renowned hip hop act in Egypt is Revolution Recordz that started in 2006 by Mezo and Ahmed Rock, who decided to solicit works of many rappers to come together in one big group. Currently Revolution Recordz contains four rap bands and 4 single rappers who are called: Ismailia Soldiers, WilD Mc's, Hood Booyz, P.T.S , MEZO, Ahmed Rock, C-Zar, Mohey.

Iraq

Timz is an Iraqi American rapper mostly known for his controversial rap song "Iraq". His debut album "Open for Business" is available online. He has gained recognition through his political messages in his music, and he has been featured on Fox News, MTV News, and Al Jazeera and has been nominated for "Best Hip-Hop Album" at the 2006 San Diego Music Awards.

ShaGaGy & Mr Passion Are the first iraqi rappers rapping in Arabic language, they started in 2005 and they decided to be in one group which is called "Voice in Fog".

F.D Is an iraqi rapper who started rapping in 2000, and he decided to make a rap group named "Arab Gezz" with his mate K.B, F.D raps in both languages English and Arabic.

The Narcicyst is a well known Iraqi Canadian hip hop artist and former frontman to hip hop group Euphrates. Sandhill was also a part of Euphrates, that now produces hip hop beats and often works with The Narcicyst. He raps in both Iraqi Arabic and English.

Mc NiZ-R is an Iraqi rapper who is living in Jordan who raps in both Jordanian and Iraqi Arabic dialects. Lowkey is an Iraqi-British rapper, political activist and poet.

Aïwa is a french iraqi hip hop band headed by two iraqi brothers Wamid and Naufalle. The band was created in 1998 and toured all over the world. Naufalle is rapping exclusively in Iraqi dialect since 1998 and could also be considered as the first rapping in Iraqi language. Aiwa made 3 albums so far ("Aiwa" 2003 , "Elnar" 2006 , "Remixed volume 1" 2007)

Jordan

Rap and Hip Hop music are also very popular in Jordan. Arabic Hip Hop is one of the most popular music genres listened to by Jordan's youth, in addition to trance and techno. Famous artists are TAJ (The Arabian Journal), 962 Street, Ahat (band), Ahmed Jay, Dr. Mex, DJ Sotusura, and DJ Flava.

Kuwait

There is a popular Kuwaiti hip hop band called Army of One, who perform in English. In 2006, they released an album called "Reprezentin", which received much success around the region. In 2007, their second album was released, which was the first to be released in Kuwait itself.

There are also many unsigned Kuwaiti artists and bands who also perform in English, like HOT-C, 2D, RG who are considered pretty famous in Kuwait. A website dedicated to all underground rappers in Kuwait and from the Middle East is www.hiphop-crib.com

Lebanon

Main article: Lebanese hip hop

AKS'SER, an Arabic hip-hop group from Lebanon, was formed by two Beirut-based rappers whose music is a discourse about a society marked by civil war. The act is currently signed with EMI. Rayess Bek, one of AKS'SER members, has gone on with a solo career, releasing a widely acclaimed album.

RAmez, a solo Lebanese rap artist has reached unprecedent sales result in 2007 by being the first Lebanese rapper to hit the top charts on NRJ with the Lebanese rap song "Leich Heik Baladé"

Clotaire K, another Lebanese rapper, recently released an album. Ashekman (Lebanese rap crew), Khat Ahmar (Lebanese rap and music production crew), Clotaire K and RAmez, and Ghassan Rahbani are other known Lebanese rappers.

Libya

Morocco

Main article: Moroccan hip hop

One of the most successful Arabic rappers is the Moroccan artist Salah Edin who performs his music in the Moroccan dialect Darija. Salah Edin has performed in over 31 countries in 4 continents and worked among popular American acts such as the Wu-Tang Clan, producer Focus (Aftermath) as well as with popular French artists IAM and Danish topsellers Outlandish.

Cilvaringz is also a Moroccan rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan who speaks out against anti-Islamic sentiment along with fellow Dutch Moroccan rappers Salah Edin, Appa, and Sjaakie. Rapper Appa was accused of aiming death threats at the Dutch right wing politician Geert Wilders. Wilders took Appa to court over this issue and the judge ruled in favour of Appa.

In Morocco Fnaire is another popular hip hop group. Lyrically they rap about how proud they are about their country and the way how people in Morocco. H-kayne is also a rap group that lyrically is comparable to American brag and boast type of rapping. And in Casablanca, hip-hop is becoming the street and underground voice of many rappers, and among the most popular are Casa Crew, Casa System, R-Kings, and Bigg. In Tangier, there other great names, including, Moslem and Kachla.

In Europe, there many European-born Moroccans, such LaFouine, Kamelancien, Salah, Isam Bashiri, etc, who became distinguished themselves and became among the best European rappers.

Tigress Flow is the first ever Moroccan All-female rap group.

World famous producer and co-owner of RedOneKonvict, RedOne worked with top notch singers and producers such as Toni Braxton, Back street Boys, Shakira, Lady Gaga, Katdeluna, Akon, and others.

Oman

Palestine

Main article: Palestinian hip hop

Palestinian hip hop supposedly started in 1998 with Tamer Nafar's group DAM.The group, based in Israel was founded in 1998, and is made up of three Palestinian men: Tamer Nafar, his brother Suhell Nafar, and Mahmoud Jrere. They blend Arabic melodies and hip hop beats in their music. The group's name is the Arabic word for "blood" (دم), but can also be an acronym for "Da Arabic MCs." Despite not having a formal recording contract, DAM's 2001 single "Meen Irhabi? - Who's the Terrorist?" - was downloaded more than a million times from their website. The group has also delivered their message outside Israel and the Palestinian territories on four European tours. DAM's latest single "Born Here" is in Hebrew and they are hoping they can bring the Palestinian message to an Israeli audience. "Arabs already know how they live - we have to educate Israelis on what's going on." In 2006 they released their debut album "Dedication".

The group MWR (made up of Mahmoud, Waseem, and Richard) is one of the most powerful hip-hop groups in Palestine. helps to bridge the social gap between Israelis and Palestinians. They sing out against poverty, drugs, crime, and the hardships they deal with as Palestinians living inside of Israel. They have even captivated a strong Israeli fan base to go along with their Arab supporters. This has helped them represent the Palestinians struggle within Israel today.[1]

Ramallah Underground including boikutt, stormtrap, and aswatt is a hip-hop group based in Ramallah, Palestine. Their lyrics represent a powerful response to the occupation of their country. They have benefited from a global media coverage adopting hip-hop as a subculture and as a form of expression of protest, ultimately giving voice to a whole generation of Palestinians and Arabs.

PR ( Palestinian Rapperz) are known as the first rap group in Gaza. Their group includes Mohammad Al-Farra a.k.a D.R , Kan'an Fayyad, Mu'taz a.k.a Mezo, and Ayman Meghames. Ayman's father, Jamal Meghames died a martyr during the war on the Gaza Strip in 2009. The group has made two new songs since the war "Gaza Ehna Minha" and "My City" which feature Shadia Mansour a Palestinian rapper living in the UK. Their songs can be found at [1]

Palestine has its own line of top producers such as Rami Ba'arah, a Palestinian born producer and rapper who has worked with many of the Arab rappers (DAM, Arabian Knights, Niz-R, TAJ, and Y Crew). Other Palestinian rappers include Arapeyat and Jabbar (rapper & producer), the Palestinian Rapperz, the N.O.M.A.D.S, and the Philistines and Jaffa Phonix, founded in 2003 by two Palestinian refugees in Egypt, is an electro/hop band using Palestinain Arabic.

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

The first Saudi Arabian Hip Hop Artist, Qusai aka Don Legend the Kamelion, began singing in the early 1990s and released his first solo album, "The Life of a Lost Soul," in May 2002 which included the popular single "Jeddah". After his journey in the United States with "Urban Legacy" and fellow rapper D-Light, he is expected to release a new album in early 2008 with his new group "Jeddah Legends." Many other rappers have recently risen from Jeddah such as Black Royalty, and Jeddah F.A.M, and the Jeddah-based band Red Coast.

Syria

Syrian hip hop developed in the 1990s. The Aleppo-based Murder Eyez started in 1999, when it was originally called Machine Gun. They sing gangsta-style in both Arabic and English) made up Abdul Rahman (A.FROM.A), Talal (Rebel TuhG), Hussien (DJ.Spider) and Spyro (DJ.Spyro). With reputation as one of the best rap band in Syria, they have done concerts in Lebanon as well. In Damascus 2005 Murder Eyez won the Syrian rap and hip hop championship. There is also Khaled Big K from Sham MCs.

Tunisia

Tunisia has its own rap band Afrock comprising of "Da Sole" and WMD, whereas Trappa is a Tunisian rapper in the United States.

United Arab Emirates

Desert Heat is a hip hop duo based in Dubai. Formed in late 2002, Desert Heat consists of two Emirati brothers ‘Illmiyah’ (eel-mee-yah) & ‘Arableak’. Desert Heat primarily rap in English, but the majority of their songs contain some Arabic literature. They speak about their own struggles, what it’s like being a Muslim Arab in the Middle East and what all ‘normal’ things they do. Desert Heat had high exposure wwhen they were surprisingly auditioned for Akon in Dubai. After impressing Akon, Desert Heat were pushed to open up the launch of MTV Arabia along side Akon and Ludacris. Shortly after Desert Heat released their first video "Desert Heat - Keep It Desert"

International / Other

File:Arabrap.jpg
Cover of ArabRapNet vol 1 sampler CD (2003)

The First Arabic RapMixtape released in 2008 under the name "Arabic Rap Kings Vol. 1 2008". This album copyrighted to LaLa4Fans Company for Amateur Talents.

From other Arab nations (Middle East and North Africa) as well as acts from the European continent: Arab Legion, Iron Sheik, Patriarch Son of a Refugee, Euphrates, and h2Z.

Other successful rappers, producers and DJ's of Arabic origin are Cilvaringz (Wu-Tang Clan), Salah Edin (Aftermath Entertainment), DJ Cut Killer (France), DJ Abdel (France), Freeman (IAM), Outlandish (Isam Bachiri), producer Fred Wreck (worked with Snoop Dogg in Doggystyle Records (USA) and with G-Unit), DJ Lady S (Belgium), and Adam A. Shoucair also known as A.M.A (all.mighty.ameer) (Detroit), DJ Khaled (Terror Squad) (USA), Belly (Rebellyus) (Canada), K'Maro (Canada), K'naan (Somalia/Canada) Freeman IAM, rim-k, Fnaire, Bigg, Tai Mahmud, and Arab Gezz.

Notes

  1. ^ "Hip-Hop Speaks to the Reality of Israel" - Worldpress.org

The internet played a major rule in spreading Arabic Hip Hop; the majority of the Arab Rappers got their breaks from websites that were created to showcase the (then) unsigned aspiring rappers. Some of those websites are presently defunct, while others exist till nowadays.

General

Individual acts

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