Thursday, November 24, 2011

music on Tahrir: not (but some rappers foresaw Egyptian revolution 2.0)

Ashraf Khalil, in a fine commentary in Foreign Policy ("The Second Republic of Tahrir") writes: "unlike January, this isn't a festival; it's a fight. That old revolutionary spirit may be burning bright in Tahrir again, but nobody there would think of holding a concert right now."

I've heard or seen nothing that would contradict this. No youtube vids of anyone singing or anyone broadcasting songs. But let me know if I'm wrong.

On the other hand, the blog Revolutionary Arab Rap informs us that at least two Egyptian rappers saw what was coming.

To wit, Ramy Donjewan, in "Message to Tantawi" (I posted about him previously):

The blood of my brothers is so expensive, so precious, O Tantawi.
And we will NOT be threatened.
And what happened before can happen again
if our demands are not implemented.


And Ahmed Rock, in a video released on November 16, just 3 days before round two started, called "No to military rule" (Yasqut hukm al-'askar):

They seem to have forgotten who we are! They think that we're still scared!
We saw death in front of us and we stood there smiling!
We'll remind them, if they forget, that we're the generation of revolutionaries!
No matter how much the oppression against us increases, we'll break down all jail cells!


(Chapeau to Revolutionary Arab Rap. Keep the translations coming!)

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