Morocco Weclomes International Super Stars, Locks Up Its Own

Morocco is a funny country, the King is screwing up the country yet many view him as untouchable, because he claims to come from a great lineage. People kiss his hand and his leg seeking blessings form this Royal who seems to be doing a better job in warning his people of the dangers of the alternative.

While the King is generous and promoter of free speech. Among his guests on this summer music festivals are Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey traveled to Marrakesh to perform at the popular music festival. They were kind and thanked King Mohammed VI for having them over. I am certain he used all those money from  programs dedicated to the poor to make rich people even richer.

But if you are a local celebrity--you do not get to be invited. Such frustration has been expressed by a number of Morocco's finest talents including Hoda Saad who complained about this just last week. But not being invited is not a bad thing, being imprisoned and tortured is not cool.

WE have written many times about one local rapper who sang On Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death, the forthcoming album from dissident Moroccan rapper El Haqed “the Enraged”—one

Called “El Habs,” or “Prison,” the song features lyrics that are particularly poignant now that El Haqed—otherwise known as Mouad Belghouat, a 25-year-old Casablanca kid—is serving a one-year jail sentence for a music video and song, “Dogs of the State,” that allegedly insulted Morocco’s infamously corrupt police.‬ The refrain is—like most of El Haqed’s lyrics—a challenge to the authorities.‬

Such a bogus charge that means so many things and thus, a talented young man is being put behind bars , but the world is taking notice of his struggle. He is not the only one to have it though as earlier this week, the United Nations issued a scathing report on human-rights abuses against dissidents in Morocco. It included accounts of sexual assault perpetrated on men involved in the democracy movement, and other horrific tortures.

A young lady whose name is Maria Karim, a 32-year-old Moroccan activist who co-produced El Haqed's  album is also in legal trouble for having allegedly insulted the authorities, is working on borrowed time to get El Haqed’s message out to Moroccans and, she hopes, to the world and so far she seems to have done a good job of it. El Haqed is more Moroccan than his prisoners.

So please, if the King of Morocco gives you a call, skip that conversation! And tell them you will show up when they stop locking up people for singing.

"Bladi" - Nouveau Track de l'Artiste Marocain Détenu Mouad "El Haked" #FreeHaked #Feb20

Lupe Fiasco Islam, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1

One of America's finest rapper is Lupe Fiasco, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco was born a Sunni Muslim, Lupe says he fully embraced Islam when his cousin, who had just converted, moved in with the family when he was 13. To me, Lupe is one of the smartest and most informed rappers out there. Rappers are not to be thinkers, not this one.

But as a rapper his 2006 album shaken the rap industry and presented fresh material. A year later "The Cool" where he was bolder and had a biggest budget. "Lasers" was not as celebrated as the previous work. Socially aware hip hop album and very electronic with some good singles, but as an album it disappointed. The problem is in the entertainment value, most agreed with the ideas and philosophy  but the music left somethings to be desired.  Now comes, "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1"

I am reading his interview with Newsweek and I am astonished how informed and how one can have an intelligent conversation with this very talented raper.  

About the film--or trailer "Innocence of Muslims", the anti-Islam amateur film Lupe walked a fine line “They should fight for the dude’s right to make that movie. Unfortunately, we also live in a world with everyone else. America is not its own planet. You can say whatever you want, but have some class.” He adds, “It’s a provocation, but I think that at the same time, the Muslim world is taking it a little too seriously. If you want to battle and protest against it, this is the opportunity to talk about all the great things the Prophet Muhammad has done and the ways he’s inspired people.” This is true and Lupe said it best. After all he is the guy who had a song called Muhammad Talks.

“There’s Muslim rage. There’s Christian rage too,” he says. “Truth is supposed to hurt. That shit’s supposed to hurt, it’s not supposed to feel good. If you’re feeling good about something, you should really question that. That’s how I was raised. With Muslim rage, you’ve got a kid who walks into a restaurant with a bomb strapped around his waist, pulls a cord or presses a button, and kills all these innocent people. He’s not killing Christians or Jews, he’s killing other Muslims from a different section of Islam, because they’re Shia and he’s Sunni. He’s 1,400 years removed from the original conflict, so people say, ‘That’s terrible.’ Then you have a plane that drops a five-ton bomb on a school because there are reports that it’s insurgent-based, but they haven’t been thoroughly sorted, and you just dropped a bomb on a school and killed kids. And that guy’s Christian. But you don’t say, ‘Oh, these terrible Christians.’ All you say is, ‘Oh, these misguided intelligence officers. It’s collateral damage. Shit happens.’”

He continues: “Isn’t that rage, to drop a bomb on somebody? Isn’t it rage to park a tank 50 miles away and shoot rockets into a village? What’s more rage: people burning an effigy of a president that they’re never going to meet, as people chant and throw rocks, and then they go home to their poverty-stricken shanty towns. What’s more rage: that, or dropping a nuclear bomb on somebody? We’re still the only country that’s done that.”

For More details: Here

Lupe strikes me as a very loyal person who stays close to his roots not trump on them. He is very vocal about his religion, but he also remembers the great things that come with free speech. Lupe is rapping like he is your favorite history professor. His fourth album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 is out.

Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album PT 1 - Available Now

Ayman El Refaie: When Sexy Prays

The good looking, and charming singer Ayman El Refaie has a song where he is praying to the good Lord. The handsome almost model look singer who comes from Egypt chose an odd time to release his latest track. It might be that he wants us to know prayer is as good any time and it doe snot have to be limited to the holy month of Ramadan--when most such songs get aired.

Ayman is a rare breed, he sings, composers and writes his own lyrics too--which gives him an advantage in both the business and the artistic sides. Ayman started his career in 2006 and has already authored two songs that were featured in films--one of whom won him an ward.

Ayman El Refaie - Khaleiny Adma3 / أيمن الرفاعى - خلينى أدمع

سيمبلات البوم حماده هلال ماتقولهاش Samples Hamada Helal 2012

Hamada Helal is back with a new album, and we are all enjoying the samples for this upcoming album. I am loving each of the tracks Hamada will release. Sweet, happy, funny and heartbroken are the colors of the upcoming album. Hamada manages to do what other stars fail so bad in doing which is recreating his old songs with new material and song songs. He works withing a formula.

It works for Hamada because he keeps the album energizing as you can dance and part to this album. Not using fancy words helps, by finding middle ground language. Most people who are asking a fun album, they are not looking for a mental workout. Not exactly street language and not that one you need to go to school to process. Keeping humor is also a signature Helel move, it helps him be one of us--he is not too rigid.

Hamada is on top of pop culture reference and when he brings them in his songs it seems he is speaking to his doorman not to his university professor. In one track Helal wears a sponge bob costume and wins the kids over. But he also keeps college kids with a couple sad songs where he lets his emotion out of the bag. This is how you keep a balance and this is how you move records.

I can assure you this, Hamada's album is a golden chance for the cassette market to redeem itself. Everyone in the streets of Egypt and beyond want to be buddies with Helal. They can take a peice of him with them home when they purchase his album.

Enjoy the sample  

 سيمبلات البوم حماده هلال ماتقولهاش Samples Hamada Helal 2012

Mc Gaza 2012 Rap Album Delivers The Punches

MC Gaza is promoting his new rap album, an album he made with very limited resources. The young Gaza based rapper is a refugee living in a land with million and half citizens with minimal rights living under a seige that varies in brutality. Mc Gaza is one of those young rappers that has a unique way with words, he spits lyrics with a rapid force.

The young rapper is well networked with other Arab rappers--thanks to the internet and the Arab Spring that has helped bring so many of them together as they talk about unity (Arabia Knights project).  He has already worked with other rappers in Egypt and beyond. I do like the cover of his album--see photo. Ibrahim was born in Algeria to Palestinian parents. Perhaps it's his upbringing in such North African nation where they tend to speak really fast for most Arabs to process 

Mc Gaza - I'm Back To You لكم أعود

Video: Sex And The City Mai Hariri & Fulla - Bahwak / مي حريري و فلة - بهواك

Female musicians do not collaborate often, not clear why. There has not been many duets where ladies share the stage and the lines of a song. But there is no conventional wisdom that says one is not supposed to do that.  It took two ladies in their prime to bring about fresh music video between two Arab ladies in recent history.

Lebanese Mai Hariri  and Algerian Fulla released a duet and a music video to go with their romantic song. Together offer one lethal combination, the incredible looks, the unmatched sense of style and most of all their singing voices. Each of the songstress does her thing very well, I love the Algerian part performed by Fulla--I think she should do more of this.

The music video had to be glamorous, lots of fashion, nice homes and fancy cars. This is the rich life everyone, get used to it. It feels like it has been filmed somewhere in Hollywood. And yes, there's an eye candy shirtless guy by the pool too. The music is your average house mix upbeat track. When you watch the music video, the lyrics are the last thing on your mind.

The music videos has it's Disney"up" moment with balloons and all. Not sure how I feel about ladies stepping on almost naked dudes. The dancers make the song relevant to some folks. I think the director for this clip deserves an ward for mixing so many different elements and making a watchable music video

Mai Hariri & Fulla - Bahwak / مي حريري و فلة - بهواك

Greek Mandolin Music Inspires Arab Composers

For a really long time, many Arab singers have looked to Greek music for inspiration. Many Arabic began to feel a bit like the ones in Greek in the late to 90s. We can thank Amr Diab for that--he went to that country and made a hit song with one of its songstresses. Then came a new wave of Lebanese composers (Iwan) who took Greek melodies and made them into Arabic ones.

I now can tell if a track has been influenced by a Greek instrument or melody--it's easy. In fairness, Greece has always been closer to Arabia than to any Western civilization. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the shores of Egypt have been home to far too many natives of that land. This is one of the reasons the Egyptian city of Alexandria has an exotic beauty.

Here's a musical piece from Greece by NiKos, it sounds like a soundtrack for a movie. He draws music inspired by nature, the sea, birds and the hills.

   موسيقى رائعة للموسيقار اليوناني نيكوس-beginning belalim