North Africa’s Hip Hop Protest Music

This is an article from OntheMedia.org with an interview between the hosts Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield and Abdulla Darrat who is one the founders of the website Khalas which is run by exiled Libyans.  The Khalas team was surprised to find that one of the most common mediums people were using to voice their discontent in countries like Tunisia and Egypt was rap music.  Abdulla Darrat created a mixtape for the website that contained rap songs with strong messages of revolution.  One of the artists on the mixtape is Lotfi Double Kanon who raps to reason with the President of Algeria saying he brings a message from the youth.  Many of the Hip Hop artists spread the message, “that Islam can make a  person more honest, more loving to, more caring for his fellow citizenry.”  Abdulla Darrat says , “I think these are cultural forces…  These are young people who are using their skills, their talents to not only make others aware, but give people a set of ideas.”

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/02/11/02

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