MIDDLE EAST PROFILES SERIES – INTERVIEW WITH EGYPT’S ASFALT – PART 2
Asfalt and Arash Sobhani jam in the studio following their interview.
Althea Middleton-Detzner of The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict on Asfalt, Hip-Hop, and Resistance in Egypt.
Hip-Hop and Resistance in Egypt by Althea Middleton-Detzner
Asfalt comes to Freedom Beat as one of the leading groups from the underground hip-hop music scene in Egypt, a country where hip-hop is still gaining mainstream popularity and acceptance.
Hip-hop is not only a form of musical expression through rap, MCs, beat boxing, turntables, sampling, and mixing, it’s also a physical expression through movement in the form of break-dancing, and an artistic expression in the form of graffiti. It’s origins date back to the 1970s in New York City where it developed as a form of self-expression for Latino and Black youth, a form of resistance to racial and economic injustices, and a path for social change. Hip-hop quickly spread throughout the United States and is now a global phenomenon.
Egyptian hip-hop began as an underground scene in the late 1990s with individuals memorizing raps and DJs playing music in the clubs, until hip-hop groups like Asfalt were formed and became more widely known. Hip-hop artists infused long-established hip-hop beats and rhythms with Egyptian and Arab culture, mixing in traditional Egyptian instrumentation and sampling from traditional, even classical Egyptian music.
Hip-hop emerged in Egypt within a conservative social and religious environment and under a dictatorship. Political dissidents faced repression from Egyptian security forces, musicians were not allowed to talk about politically sensitive topics, although some underground hip-hop artists did, their music was censored by the Ministry of Culture. In this context, participation in an underground hip-hop musical group was not only subversive, it could be seen an act of resistance to the social and political status quo.
Hip-hop is inherently for the people and by the people. It comes from “the streets.” Its language and perspective represents ordinary people and thus its music, movement, and art can be used to empower their voices, convey their grievances, and subvert an existing political order. Sujatha Fernandes adds that the “oratorical style rap employs: rappers report in a direct manner that cuts through political subterfuge and rapping can simulate a political speech or address.” The use of music as political speech shows how, in the Egyptian context, rapping and free styling could be interpreted as acts of nonviolent resistance.
Asfalt’s music is no different.
During the Egyptian uprising in 2011, new political and social spaces were opened providing an avenue for people to experience and enjoy different styles and genres of music as well. Asfalt MC Ibrahim Farouk explains how during the revolution, “people started listening to other kinds of music, they built stages, and then people came to perform.” Music, including free styling, rhyming, and rapping, was written and performed in Tahrir Square throughout the 18 days of resistance, and hip-hop started to gain popularity among the people. Author Robin Wright called hip-hop “the rhythm of the resistance.”
While Farouk does not credit musicians for playing a role in the Egyptian revolution, “people were moved by hunger and depression not music; musicians weren’t the ones calling people to action or to participate in the Egyptian uprising,” their music inevitably chronicles the history of the nonviolent civil resistance struggle that brought about an end to Mubarak’s 30-year rule. Their music tells the stories and experiences of ordinary Egyptian citizens, as they “look at the political situation from a social point of view, from the perspective of someone who lives in the street.”
If Asfalt’s music is not intentionally political it is certainly politicized. Their music videos show scenes of repression and violence during the revolution, their lyrics speak to the price of being divided, the effects of media censorship and corruption, experiences of people being arrested, becoming political prisoners, and freedom being stolen. Ultimately, their music speaks to the Egyptian people and their vision moving forward. As Farouk says, “when the music comes from the people it expresses what the people feel.”
Althea Middleton-Detzner is Senior Advisor, Education and Field Learning at International Center on Nonviolent Conflict where she has worked on core programmatic and educational initiatives for almost eight years. She is also a consultant in the field of civil resistance, has a background in music, and believes in the power of story-telling and the arts to create social change.
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Executive Producers: Maziar Bahari, Daryn Cambridge, Tim O’Keefe
Produced by Jahanshah Javid
Directed by Tim O’Keefe, Arash Sobhani, Irene Su
Edited by Irene Su
Interviews by Jahanshah Javid, Arash Sobhani
Camera & Sound by Wail Gzoly, Jahanshah Javid
Freedom Beat logo animation by Sang Un Jeon
Freedom Beat Middle East Series animation by Beth Wexler
Translation by Mary Choueiter
Music by Tim O’Keefe
Special thanks to Iranwire.com and The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict for their support & collaboration in the making of this series.