Ask yourself what was the theme tune to your revolution? Chances are it was not the Beatles. Music, viral tech sharing and youth culture have never combined in such a politically explosive manner as they did with the falling of Tunisia and Egypt. Many will put the former down to the humiliation of Mohammed Bouazizi and the latter to the brutal murder of Khaled Said by local police. However, most will put it down to the song “Rais Lebled” by El Général, otherwise known as Hamada Ben Amor.
El Général missed the jasmine revolution in Tunisia that saw the ousting of tyrant, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and he could not attend Tahrir Square in Cairo to see the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Police arrested and detained Hamada Ben Amor for the first and he did not have a passport to travel to the second. The latter disappointed him because the Egyptian protestors had invited him to perform in Tahrir Square as part of their protests.
Rais Lebled
Rais Lebled is not a stirring rock anthem; it is not a sweet pop song singing of revolution or free love. It is a rap song, pure and simple. It opens with discordant chords and despondent piano keys before moving into traditional rap rhythms and stylings. The video just shows El Général, wearing typical American rap clothing, rapping into a mike.
While not in English, the song has resonated throughout the Arab world. When Bahrainis looked for a message to play during their protests they tuned to “Rais Lebled.” As we have already seen it was important in Egypt too. The song implores the Tunisian president to stop killing people. In one version a woman tells the President his people are dying, that they are eating poorly and how everything is a mess.
Youthful Revolution
Hamada Ben Amor, El Général, has found himself at the forefront of a revolution. He is not alone. The defining characteristic of the 2011 pan-Arab revolution is its youthful nature and its use of technology.
Across the Arab world from Mauritania in the far west to Iran in the east, over 40 percent of the population is under 30 years of age. In places such as Egypt this reaches 61 percent and in Yemen its 74 percent. These are powerful demographics. Not only that, but a large proportions of these youths are unemployed and living in poverty.
There is no means of knowing how much American social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have played in these revolutions. However, we do know that they and other, more local, sites have an ever increasing amount of influence. They have connected potential revolutionaries together; they have allowed people to share Rais Lebled and to accord it the power it now has. One song is being played across the Arab world and it’s an Arab song for freedom not American.
Sources:
- Ben Amor, Hamada, 2011, Rais Lebled
- Ghosh, Bobby, 2011, Rage, Rap and Revolution, Time, NY.
- Ryan, Yasmine, 2011, Tunisia arrests bloggers and rapper, Al Jazeera.
Mark Wollacott - Mark Wollacott is a thirty year old Brit from the Cotswolds. He began writing in 2000 when press-ganged into writing a play for the ...
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