What’s it like being Arab and a rapper in Greece?

Tarek: “It’s no different from being just Arab or just a rapper. The only difference is that by being a rapper you are more known and recognized, by people who listen to the kind of music that you make. Being Arab influences my way of talking, writing, thinking, beliefs and even the flow on the beat. Arabic also has a different tone and different breathing as well as tongue twisting words just like Greek. I guess I am used to both languages and English, so it came naturally to me on my music.”

What do politics mean to you?

Tarek: “Politics are intelligent stupid lies served to the people though brainwashing and propaganda. As a result people lose will, power and become dependent to their government, not knowing that it is not the politicians or the government who makes decisions but the funded companies that support them.”

How have the Middle East uprisings influenced your rap?

Tarek: “The Middle East has always been an issue. It influenced my rap by making me humble and making me understand that world problems as such should not be ignored. Being Palestinian I see a lot of what’s going on there and it pains me, even more when the majority of people do not know what Palestine stands for, but they know Israel.”

How has the situation in Greece influenced you?

Tarek: “Greek people are very angry with the politics of the country. They realized that the politicians don’t care …finally! Since I live here I have the same beliefs with the Greek people who have had enough, my lyrics reflect a lot on all this.”

What do you want to say to readers who are going to read this interview?

Tarek: “You can achieve anything and everything if you find your higher self, we are born as perfect individuals and in this world, the people who guide the human race hide our real identity. This will not stop. That is the goal after all. Open your eye(s).”

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A taste of Tarek’s lyrics:

I’m living on this planet were towers fall down with dynamites (9/11)
Where sheep gathered and are dragged by their noses,
and the air you inhale at home is polluted.
Our life is made to be programmed, in cracked mould
Our mind is so powerful, but they hide this so well so we don’t know.
There is knowledge, that I don’t even begin to fantasize about
maybe the money got loved by many and brought hate
maybe I’d be writing different if I was a Croesus
maybe there isn’t a dilemma in this life, looking at the sunrise and get nourishment
maybe there wouldn’t be light in my written form
maybe there isn’t a search in demand
maybe you need to change your monologue into conversation
maybe that’s how you save every hope, in front of me look at what I see
I looked and I found sheep gathered on a ball “earth”
they look at your every movement as if you are a fish in a bowl
maybe we will be , because after all we are not free
maybe there is a future for the future
maybe there is a little more oxygen to breathe
Maybe something will exist that will touch you and be worth it.

Recently, these demands are expressed though Arabic hip hop and rap which seems to be gaining momentum in many Arab Spring countries including Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain. Hip hop and rap carry a message of sophistication that pushes them to break the barriers of fear and face the authoritarian regimes and long term rulers who seek to ridicule their demands.

In Tunisia, Hamada Ben Amor known as El General paid for his boldness with his freedom as he was arrested by the state after he released last November a critical song about former leader of Tunisia, Ben Ali, reaching audiences around the world through media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The song was immediately banned in Tunisia, but Al Jazeera Television and other stations were still able to pick up on the El General story followed by other media outlets such as TIME magazine which ranked the 21-year-old man one of the 100 most influential people of the year as his song is credited for inspiring Tunisia to take to the streets. His music extended beyond Tunisia’s borders and inspired protestors in Bahrain and Egypt.

Demonstrators in Bahrain prepared to flood the streets with El General’s tunes to express their demands for change. Bahraini rappers talked in their songs mostly about the rationality of the Sunni- Shiite divide that served only the interest of the regime.

Egypt’s day of rage brought to the forefront a group of rappers like Ram Donjewan who composed the anthem of Egypt’s revolution by simply laying out the reasons why it was normal to revolt against the government. In order to stand against a regime and its repression claim a group of rappers “the Arabian Knightz” in their song “not your prisoner” they must overcome all the pit politics that paralyze people in their everyday lives not only in Egypt but also in the entire region.

Libya is another country, which has seen a very fast rise in its hip-hop scene. In Libya, artist Ibn Thabet adjusts a code for the Libyan youth in which his music captures the anger and frustration of young Libyans that have lived decades of repressive rule under Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, Syrian rappers are staging their own uprising in their country. A search on YouTube for Syrian revolutionary rap results in thousands of videos and songs. Little is known about the artists or their way of working because secrecy is needed to prevent artists who criticize the government from being arrested. In some cases, governments as has happened in the past, have co-opted hip hop, popularity by supporting and exclusively giving National TV airtime to artists with pro-regime lyrics.

Each of these songs which include no managers, record labels or copyright are distributed via social network sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook, all stand in solidarity with the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

Material from the Centre for Mediterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies (CEMMIS) was used for parts of the story.