Feature: How Did Hip Hop Make Its Way to the Arab World?

Library > Community Presentations

Presenter: Maha Kamel

Delivered: DC on April 22, 2018

Today, hip hop is the stage where Arabs and the Arab diaspora consciousness and identity politics are being expressed. This afikra feature explores the history of Arab Hip Hop, Arab influences on American Hip Hop, and what the Hip Hop movement in the Middle East shows us about a changing Arab culture.

Sources & Future References

• UMS Aswat- Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music Resource Guide

• The “Arab Wave” in World Music after 9/11

• Code switching and the globalisation of popular music: The case of North African rai and rap

• Emotion, Performance, and Temporality in Arab Music: Reflections on Tarab

• Hip Hop Inspired by the Arab Spring, Public Radio International, 2013

• Hip Hop & Diaspora: Connecting the Arab Spring, Arab Media and Society, Summer 2011

• An Introduction to the Arab Worlds Best Rappers

• https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/852534.pdf

• Terkourafi, Marina, ed. The languages of global hip hop. A&C Black, 2010.

• Kahf, Usama. "Arabic Hip Hop: Claims of authenticity and identity of a new genre." Journal of Popular Music Studies 19, no. 4 (2007): 359-385.

• Maira, Sunaina. "" We Ain't Missing": Palestinian Hip Hop—A Transnational Youth Movement." CR: The New Centennial Review 8, no. 2 (2008): 161-192.

• A collection of interviews with Arab hip hop artists

• El Zein, Rayya. “From ‘Hip Hop Revolutionaries’ to ‘Terrorist- Thugs’: ‘Blackwashing’ between the Arab Spring and the War on Terror.”

• Mic Check Hip Hop From AME- NUYT

• BBC Arabic Interview with Kazz Al Omam

• Fahmy vs. Jay Z et al.

• Hip Hop’s Arabic Language Kin

Note: All community presentations are prepared & presented by non-experts on the subject. They are sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in that subject.

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About Afikra Community Presentations

Delivered and prepared by afikra Community members, the presentation’s goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity and research and share some knowledge on a ‎topic related to the Arab world’s histories and cultures. The presentation is the ‎culmination of the afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research, and develop the ‎presentation. afikra presentations come in two forms, a long question-driven afikra Feature, and a short afikra FWD with the purpose of sharing something interesting.