User:Amongst no roses/Scaffold

Note: Due to the existence of the Arabic hip hop article, I've had to change my topic slightly from a focus on substantive information about Arab American hip hop. Although I will still include a section on the phenomenon as it exists in the United States and Canada, where the movement is most prevalent, I have to do some major cleanup to the article as it stands. I will include information as well as background with regards to that change here.

Basis for Edits

Hip Hop is an art form associated heavily with self-identity and the concept of cultural disenfranchisement; both of these themes can be viewed in the literature and actually on the Hip Hop Wikipedia page. The article entitled "Arabic Hip Hop" has major problems because it basically serves as a definition and delineation of the movement. The definition is lacking because it is bereft of nuance, particularly any allusion to self-identification as a corollary of ethnic "labeling" of the movement. In other words, if the movement is one of self-identification and also associated with ethnicity, then we must assume that part of that self-identification as it regards the movement is the ethnicity itself. The concept is ignored altogether in the definition.

Furthermore, the author has categorized Arab Hip Hop artists according to a list of fifteen countries. There is no explanation for this, but there can only be two possible explanations for the emcees he/she includes: (1) they are citizens of the territory listed, or (2) they rap primarily about the country listed or are associated primarily with that country in some other way. There are many people on the list who do not fit either classification, for example the Narcicyst is listed under "Iraq", although he is an Iraqi Canadian, and although his primary ethnic association is Iraq, to classify him as an Iraqi Arabic Hip Hop artist would be to ignore his body of work (invalidating the second explanation) or his citizenship (invalidating the first explanation). The classification system needs to be re-thought out (I would say deleted, but I don't want to step on toes) or there needs to be a line of explanation before the classification and then a thorough editing therein.

This may seem like a philosophical or pedantic type of basis for editing, but I think without these edits the article is completely acontextual.

Current Introduction

Arabic hip hop is hip hop music and culture originating in the Arabic-speaking world. It is performed in Arabic, and local Arabic dialects, English, French, Berber languages (Tamazight). Like most artists of the genre, the artists from the Arab world are highly influenced by American hip hop.

Also considered part of Arabic hip hop are emcees of Arab origin in the Arab diaspora including Europe, North America, and Australia. These emcees are at times well-renowned beyond Arab audiences and are often successful international hip hop acts.

Arabic hip hop is played on radio stations and shown on TV programs, but live hip hop performances only began in the 1990s. Many hip hop groups are still underground because their political views could lead to government censure. Therefore, the Internet has been a major outlet for most groups.

Proposed Changes

Palestinian hip-hop trio DAM

Introduction

Arabic hip hop is hip hop music and culture generated by artists who identify themselves with the Arabic-speaking world. It is performed in Arabic, and local Arabic dialects, English, French, Berber languages (Tamazight). The art incorporates culturally Arabic elements, but can include a diverse range of cultural influences. Most notable amongst these other influences are from American hip hop and French Hip Hop.

Arabic hip hop's primary medium is the Internet, although there have been TV programs, radio shows, and live performances dedicated to this art form. Arabic hip hop music is largely associated with the underground hip hop genre, the conscious hip hop genre and the alternative hip hop genre, although these classifications contain implications that require the delineation of Arabic hip hop.

History

Before Arabic hip-hop emerged as a separate genre, Arab-Americans were regularly involved in hip-hop in the United States, notably producer Fredwreck, based in L.A. and Miami-based DJ Khaled. American hip-hop music began to see popularity in the Arab World in the early-to-mid 1990s. Northern African Arabs, mostly residing in France, the epi-center of European hip-hop, were the first to begin making the music that constitutes the Arabic hip-hop genre. For example, the Super Saian Crew and IAM had Arabic members. This music, a product of the French banlieue’s beur and noir communities, was a blend of traditional American hip-hop, the French styles popular at the time, and Rai, a popular music style from Northern Africa.

Groups began to emerge in Palestine in the mid-90s, including popular group DAM. DJ Lethal Skillz was promoting new local groups “such as Aks El Seir” at around the same time. In Egypt, hip-hop was less popular, but a small buzz led to an emergent b-boy population. In 2004, the first hip-hop show took place there when the RZA, member of the Wu-Tang Clan, performed in the Siag Hotel in Cairo alongside Kinetic 9 of Killarmy, a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, Cilvarange (a Moroccan-Dutch, and the first Arab to get signed by an American rap group) and Saleh Edin, an Arab Moroccan rapper.

In 2006, Arabic hip-hop solidified its mainstream presence overseas with Hip Hop Na, a reality TV show on MTV Arabia hosted by Fredwreck and Qusai, a Saudi Arabian Artist.

Cultural References

Musical Influences

Arabic hip-hop artists, commensurate with those of the overall genre, engage in the process of sampling. According to Jannis Androutsopoulos, sampling is "a process of cultural literacy and intertextual reference... taken from various domains, such as traditional folk music, contemporary popular music, mass media samples, and even poetry." Artist in the genre cite musical references, influences, and sampling material from a number of contemporary and classical sources, including 20th century Lebanese singers Fairuz, Majida al-Roumi, and Julia Boutros, as well as a number of modern mainstream and underground hip-hop artists, and regional music styles from countries such as Jamaica. Arabic hip hop artists have used full Arabic orchestras in beat-making as well as beats inspired by traditional Arabic music styles.

Certain regional variations of the music, most notably French and Northern African styles, incorporate influences from the musical genre known as Rai, "a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s." (Wikipedia, "Rai")

Political and Social Influence

While certain Arabic hip hop artists focus on the topics most closely associated with mainstream hip hop, many choose a topical focus that includes a number of social and political circumstances and situations. The topics approached depend largely on region, and there is a particular divide between Arab emcees who live and work in the Arab World and outside.

“ True to form, the Hip-Hop of occupied Palestine evokes themes of struggle and resistance as artists lay beats about drugs, violence, and the daily oppression they face under Occupation. Reminiscent of the multiple messages voiced through American Hip-Hop and Rap, artists in Palestine use music as a means to unify people who share common struggles. Their artistic expression represent the "drama of the streets", the harsh reality of cultural and ethnic subjugation, and continues to be a productive means of expression for Palestinian youth to communicate with one another across the region and hopefully soon, with the rest of the world. ” — Greta Anderson Finn, Political Art: "Arab American Hip-Hop"

Such as with hip-hop in Palestine, much of the hip hop generated in the Arab World deals with a mix of social circumstance, such as poverty, violence, and drug-use, as well as political reality, insofar as this is possible given censorship. The hip hop of Palestine in particular has generated much interest in this respect, and the music is considered a means of opposition, to the extent that the song was referred to by some critics as a "theme song for Hamas".

Outside of the Arab World, artists focus on many of the same types of issues, but there is a stronger focus on issues associated with immigration and living as ethnic minorities. In France, for example, much of the "socially critical" music focuses on "migration related problems such as discrimination, xenophobia, and the problematic identities of young people of foreign descent." Furthermore, French artists specifically deal with the government enforced impetus for assimilation "coupled with the age-old stereotypes rooted in colonial references and the stigma of the marginalized banlieue."

Arabic hip hop artists in the United States, who also deal with racism and marginalization in their content, specifically mention an experience of "doubleness" - internal conflict between traditional and modern culture. For some rap and spoken word artists, hip hop is seen as being true to both, due both to the rich Arabic poetic history and to the utility of hip hop as a form of expression for marginalized or demonized communities. The spoken word poet Lawrence Joseph addresses the conflict explicitly in his poem "Sand Nigger". Furthermore, the view of mainstream America towards Arab populations domestically and worldwide, and military intervention in the MENA region factors prominently in Arab-American hip hop.

New Additions

Subheadings will be listed in parens at the beginning of each selection under this general heading.

(History - End) Currently hip-hop is followed to varying degrees in most of the countries of the Arab world, including where social and political restrictions make hip-hop difficult to import. For example, Saudi Arabia produced the group Dark2Men, who competed in the HipHopNa reality show mentioned above. In addition, break dancing "has become a popular pastime in the kingdom."

(Political - End) Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, whose father Abu Hamza al-Masri is in prison on terrorism charges, uses hip-hop to express solidarity with groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, as well as to glorify violent Jihad. His lyrics, different from the other opposition rappers who have gained popularity in the genre insofar as he explicitly establishes his credentials with references to military skill and ability to cause violence.

(History - End of French Section) French hip-hop rose to popularity partly because of Francophone radio broadcasting requirements, begun in 1994, that establish quotas for all stations of 40% of daily broadcasts to be in French.

(Political - End) Desert Heat, an Emirati group, raps in English specifically in an attempt to "educate... the West about our culture, about our history and personalities."

Although it is unclear whether or not there is a separate female Arabic hip-hop genre, artists such as Malikah, from Lebanon, and Shadia Mansour are the forebearers of the art form. Female artists of the genre are involved in a number of outreach activities in the Arab World. For example, Malikah has been included in the Egyptian conference "Initiatives in Education, Science and Culture Towards Enhanced US-Muslim Countries Collaborations", where she performed as part of a series of events designed to address that topic. Female Arab Rappers also performed at "Home and Exile in Queer Experience", a conference organized by Aswat, "an organization for Arab lesbians with members in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip" .

(History - Mainstream) "More than 85 percent of urban households in the Arab world have satellite television," a forum that has expanded to include music channels such as MTV Arabia which "plans to offer a hefty dose of [mainly western] hip-hop and much of the same youth-lifestyle programming MTV beams across the U.S."

(History - Mainstream) It is difficult to establish numbers for albums sold or listenership by demographic due to the lack of reliable statistics. Furthermore, viewership of satellite TV in the Arab world cannot be accurately quantified. However, (reference above).

(Political - After Duplicity): From British-Iraqi rapper Lowkey, who views his situation as further complicated by his dual eastern and western heritage (a conflict which plays heavily in his music):

“ "My name's Kareem, I've never felt accepted as a British person in this country, but I've never felt truly accepted as an Iraqi person - what do I know about Iraq? People accept me as an Arab because that's my racial appearance." ”

Censorship

Even socially cautious acts are subject to censorship, particularly in the Gulf, where Saudi Arabia and relatively liberal Kuwait banned the group Desert Heat's first album despite their "pro-Muslim" message and "cautious approach to religion, politics, and society".

In addition to subversion via the internet or bootleg record sales, it seems that censorship inconsistencies and/or linguistic difficulty associated with translating hip-hop from English may account for some American hip-hop records making their way to cities where it would otherwise be banned, such as Jiddah in Saudi Arabia where, according to Abdullah Dahman of Desert Heat, music by west coast rapper Snoop Dogg can be found for sale .

2 Live Crew's album "As Nasty as They Wanna Be", released in 1989, made it by censors due to translational difficulty.

By stripping states of their monopoly on television, satellite TV has restricted the ability of state in the Middle East to censor television content, opening up space for hip-hop music and culture.

In more religiously conservative Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, singing and dancing can be viewed as shameful, therefore enforcing somewhat of a social censorship on hip-hop and other art forms. In addition, as of 2008, concerts and nightclubs were non-existent in the Kingdom, and local radio and TV played mainly Arabic pop music. Tamer Farhan, a member of the group Dark2Men that appeared on HipHopNa, said that rappers in Saudi Arabia are forced "underground because of the wrong impression people have of them."