Egyptian Hip Hop and the January 25th Revolution
In 2011, the world watched as a wave of popular uprisings rippled through North Africa and the Middle East. These “revolutions,” as they came to be known, were aimed at overthrowing the region’s dictatorial rulers and sought to address the growing social issues of police brutality, government corruption, and unemployment. During this time, Egypt took center stage with Cairo’s Tahrir Square serving as the emblematic public space of revolutionary activity. Egypt’s long-time president Hosni Mubarak resigned in February 2011 following weeks of mass demonstrations driven, in large part, by a disconcerted youth demographic in the country’s urban centers. During this turbulent period, the voices of young Egyptians were amplified not only through megaphones and protest chants but also through art and music. In the past decade, hip hop music in particular has become one of the most visible outlets through which Egyptian youth are negotiating modern identities and engaging with local sociopolitical issues in their communities. Along with Egypt’s emerging revolution came a wave of media coverage focused on the youth generation’s “revolutionary” music and the growing hip hop scene. However, this media has frequently neglected to distinguish what it is about Egyptian hip hop that is, in fact, “revolutionary.” This thesis interrogates such claims by closely examining Egyptian hip hop music since its emergence, following its development through the 2011 revolution, and looking at its continued transformation in 2013. Through this investigation, I seek to understand the cultural, political, and musical environment into which Egyptian hip hop was born and against what facets of society this music is “revolting.” As Egypt’s “revolution” began quite recently, there exists no in-depth research on this particular topic yet. My thesis hopes to fill a critical gap in academic knowledge about the intersection of music, youth culture, and politics in Egypt’s rapidly transforming society. Ultimately, this discussion reveals that, through hip hop, Egyptian rappers creatively engage with many of the same discourses that characterize Egyptian culture more broadly regarding modernity, authenticity, and Egyptian identity. Their revolution is not set against a specific genre or singer but rather, against a perceived lack of social engagement. Using a variety of song lyrics, music videos, and ethnographic interviews conducted in the summer of 2011, my examination also illustrates that the Egyptian hip hop community is not without its own internal tensions and contradictions that have remained overlooked in previous research on Egyptian hip hop.
Near Eastern Studies, Egypt, music, hip hop, youth culture, revolution
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