There are an innumerable amount of countries around the world that restrict people from the right to freedoms of speech and religion. Unfortunately, Morocco is one of the countries that enforce both restrictions in order to sustain their Islamic values and traditions. I Love Hip-hop in Morocco effectively expresses the trials of Morocco’s hip-hop artists, how they overcome their obstacles, and how they use their music to enlighten the youth. Although the goal of the Marrakeshan regime is to keep religion and worldly practices separate, the youth has been revolting against this notion through hip-hop music; they want their voices to be heard. Poverty stricken neighborhoods occupy their land and children have a predestined identity. Some say they’re terrorists and others say they’re Allah devoted Muslims, but overall, the choice to choose is theirs. Through hip-hop music, the youth have found a creative outlet for all the pressures and worries handed to them from society.
Othman of H-Kayne has effectively discovered a way to start the revolution through hip-hop. He uses his musical compositions to express what the youth is feeling. Without withholding the truth, he and others rap about the oppression of the Marrakeshan people. DJ Key, for instance, also uses his turntable skills to exemplify freedom of music; if he can get the youth to realize just how powerful their creativeness in music is, they could possibly change their entire society. Despite the fact that Islamic values reject the idea of music creativity completely, the musicians continue to battle this aspect of their culture because music is associated with their individuality. Fatti is another wonderful example of someone who utilizes their musical identity to confront oppression; just because she’s a woman does not mean she cannot be musically creative, assertive, and feminine simultaneously. When society enforces unjust principles used solely to control their identities, they fight back using other examples from history to argue their case.
The hip-hop movement began in the United States and was used to counteract racial oppression from all who were judgmental. Now that the same thing is happening in Morocco, artists have decided to utilize their musical gifts in order to resist the same kinds of prejudices. I find it interesting that the people of Morocco have not revolted through violence, but instead through music they attempt to reform their cultural fabric. The difficulty in doing this is the Islamic regime believes the expression of hip-hop, among other freedoms, is a western product of which is evil or corrupt; the elders view Islamic principles and globalization as polar opposites. The artists also struggle with that notion; however they believe both are acceptable. Instead of producing pure westernized hip-hop, they merge similar Western hip-hop beats into a more Marrakeshan style. By combining these two styles together, the artists create a link of equality; the western beat emphasizes freedom and the Marrakeshan style represents the youth’s individuality.
America was delighted to support the “I Love Hip-hop in Morocco” festival for one of many reasons. The concert was not all that expensive to sponsor compared to other things spent by the United States. The concert was just another way to liberate possible “terrorists” and it makes America look good. At the concert, there was an amazing outcry of joy from Morocco’s youth because they were finally given a chance to express themselves in whatever way they deemed necessary. When Brownfingaz did some freestyle with MC Bigg, the crowd went crazy because the bare nakedness of the truth was revealed in his lyrics. The entire concert was all about freedom of not only music, but also speech, peace, and equality.
The youth of Marrakesh will struggle for a while, but not for long. History has proven to us time and time again that through music, change will occur for better or for worse. Hip-hop in Morocco is serving as an escape route from the arbitrary Islamic culture. Instead of abandoning their religion, the youth are choosing to incorporate aspects of their individuality in order to express their freedom.
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