Después de la Revolución: Música Egipcia a la sombra de la Plaza Tahrir

A comienzos del 2011 la plaza Tahrir en El Cairo fue testigo de la escena de protestas en contra del régimen de 30 años de Hosni Mubarak.  Cientos de miles de egipcios arriesgaron sus vidas y el riesgo de perder extremidades en esta peligrosa revuelta. Tras este levantamiento, se produjo de manera instantánea música famosa en la región. Un trobador acompañado por su guitarra, de nombre Ramy Essam compuso cantos de protestas. Justo antes de que cayera el gobierno de  Mubarak surgen dos cantantes pop rock: Amir Eid y Hani Adel, ambos grabaron un himno triunfante titulado “Sawt el Hourreya (The Voice of Freedom),” “Ezzay? (How)” . Por algunos meses, canciones referentes a la revolución, trastornaron Egipto.

“Hip-hop has finally found a place in Egypt,” agreed Mina Girgis.  “That is definitely one of the most remarkable developments over the last year.”  Girgis is hearing a lot of political raps from artists likeAshraf el Samman. Sherine Amr also touts the rise of rap, though she says the most interesting stuff is not related to the revolution.  In fact, she said, “I found the complete opposite. They talk about really meaningful issues, about life, and most of the best rappers come from a lower social order. They have the language of the street. They have this slang way. It’s awesome how they put it in rhyme. And it’s so honest. They have the courage to say whenever they have in their mind.” Amr particularly recommends writer/rapper Abyusif’s work, though you’ll need a good Egyptian translator to get to the heart of it.

http://soundcloud.com/abyusif