|
Algerian Hip Hop
Rap Rebellion - Loud and Proud*
|
By Arian Fariborz
|
Jan.
17, 2006
|
 |
|
Rabah
Ourrad from Algerian rap group Le Micro Brise le Silence (MBS) caused
quite a stir when he posed as the Algerian president Bouteflika on one
of the group's album covers in 1999.
|
In
almost every Algerian city, the youth-and protest-culture of hip hop is now
omnipresent. Since the 90s, the music virus has spread quickly from the capital,
Algiers, to other cities, such as Oran, Constantin and Annaba. It can now be
encountered even in remote villages in the province of Kabyla.
What's
remarkable is that this rebellious youth movement has managed to survive and
flourish over the last twenty years in an environment so decidedly hostile to
it.
"The
mic breaks the silence"
Algeria's
hip hop musicians are determined to continue lambasting the miserable state of
their country's political culture. Rabah Ourrad, lead rapper with the popular
band "Le Micro Brise Le Silence" (MBS) emphasises that he sees it as
his task "to break the silence":
"When
we started off, it was very important to us to deal with social and political
matters. We did so because of the war. Life became very hard for the artists –
all of them left Algeria and came to France to perform here."
Ourrad
describes the Algeria of the 90s as a cultural wasteland: "What we had was
artistic stagnation. There were no shows, no performances, no CDs – just bad
Rai music. So we set out to break this silence, to do something new, something
seriously political and deeply committed."
The
protests of 1988 as the cradle of Algerian Rap
Algerian
Rap was born on October 5th, 1988, when thousands of schoolkids and young
unemployed people manned the barricades against President Chadli Benjedid and
began to politicise themselves. They had been angered by a rise in food prices
and by the ruinous condition of the country's education system.
The
government cracked down on this outburst of youthful rebellion with extreme
severity. For several days, army units hunted down peaceful demonstrators in
Algiers, killing anything between 500 and 1,000 people.
To
the young generation in particular, this was a powerful shock; for the first
time ever, the People's Army – the symbol of Algeria's struggle for
independence – had opened fire on its own population.
Touat
M'hand from the band MBS recalls those days: "In 1988, we were still pretty
young. We heard about it from our brothers, who had taken to the streets to
protest. That was when we started to understand the political connections, and
to realise that things were badly wrong. Up till then, we hadn't had any
political ideas or voiced any opinions; but since 1988 we've been naming things
by name – and writing about them."
The
hip hop bands "Hamma", for instance, have written a song called
"The Algerian Fairytale" (L'Algerie le conte des fées). Its subject
is the generation of October 1988, who went on to describe themselves as the
"October martyrs" – a polemical challenge to the "November
martyrs" of the older generation, who had fought in the struggle for
independence against the French colonial power.
"The
Martyrs of Bab el-Oued"
 |
|
Hamma is
one of the most popular rap groups in Algeria.
|
From
the viewpoint of young Algerians, this older generation no longer held a
monopoly on martyrdom, for they were now standing on the other side of the
barricades. Algeria's young people presented their own heroes: "The Martyrs
of Bab el-Oued" – school pupils and students from an impoverished part of
Algiers.
The
early 90s witnessed the formation of the three pioneer bands, "Intik",
"Hamma" and "Le Micro Brise Le Silence". With songs against
judicial injustice, the arrogance of power and the suppression of free speech,
they gave voice to their anger at the widespread misery in Algerian society and
the government's disregard for the people.
Then
came the so-called "Algerian Spring"– a relatively brief phase of
democratisation that included the abolition of the country's authoritarian
one-party system.
Soon,
however, there followed another grim chapter in the history of the Maghrebinian
state, with the eruption of civil war in 1992. The armed conflict between
radical Islamists and the army produced a climate of fear – but it also
offered musicians another chance to break the silence and to rap against
violence and arbitrary brutality.
"Speak
and die!"
The
civil war expanded in scale and grew ever bloodier. It was a conflict in which
the civilian population was increasingly caught in the middle, becoming hostages
to the two warring parties. The people of Algeria were the true victims of this
dirty war, as militias went berserk, individuals were liquidated without
warning, and entire village populations were massacred, sometimes in a single
night.
In
this atmosphere of lawlessness and terror, the critical attitudes expressed by
Algerian rappers were not welcomed by the country's Establishment, or by its
music industry, or indeed by the population in general. Touat M’hand of MBS
explains:
"During
'the black decade', as it's sometimes called, it didn't matter whether you were
an artist or a police officer. EVERYONE was frightened of the extremists, or of
the army's actions. I'm reminded of a quote from the great Algerian writer Tahar
Djaout, who was murdered in 1993 during the civil war. He said: 'If you keep
your mouth shut, you'll die; if you speak, you'll die too; so speak, and
die!"
"Rabah
Président" as a media coup
In
July 1999, President Bouteflika announced an amnesty for imprisoned Islamic
extremists – a deed that's generally held to mark the end of the Algerian
civil war. Nonetheless, Algeria's rap musicians haven't stopped criticising
their country's political and social shortcomings.
One
of the cleverest and most courageous rappers around is Rabah Ourrad of MBS, who
describes the state of things in Algeria with the blackest of sarcasm. When he
released the album "Rabah Président", the MBS rapper landed a media
coup. The cover depicts Rabah posing as Algeria's President Bouteflika; it's a
photo-montage, with the rapper's head perched on the President's body.
"We
made 'Rabah Président' just before Bouteflika was re-elected", explains
Rabah. "The CD was released during the run-up to the election. I presented
myself as if I were a candidate for the presidency. Then I went to Algeria and
gave a press conference there. The journalists came in droves, and there were
loads of articles in the Algerian press about the CD and all the things I'd said
against the President. I didn't want him to be re-elected because he really is a
little dictator… and he makes peace with all the terrorists!"
A
young generation with no prospects
Today
more than ever, hip hop expresses the way young people in Algeria feel about
their lives – because even years after the end of the civil war, their living
conditions have not improved substantially. High levels of youth unemployment, a
lack of affordable accommodation, a dreadful educational system and a general
lack of prospects - this is what everyday life looks like for many. Nabil
Bouiche from the band "Intik" explains:
"Seventy-five
percent of the Algerian population are young – with this much youth, it should
be possible to build up a wonderful country. But that's not happening; on the
contrary. Young people are working like hell, yet struggling to survive. There
are people with university degrees who have to scrape a living as waiters. The
resources for recording music are also lacking. To be able to produce a record,
we had to invest our own money. On one occasion, a member of the band even had
to sell his shoes so that we could pay the studio!"
As
in many places throughout the world, hip hop in Algeria exemplifies a trend
that's been dubbed "glocalisation": global and local phenomena that
don't stand in opposition, but instead meet and mingle, influencing one another
and forming new syntheses.
In
its country of origin, hip hop culture now seems to mean little more than
hedonism, conspicuous consumption, and illusory ideas about violence and sex. In
Algeria, the almost-forgotten potential of that culture is audible once again.
Here, rap means speaking about reality, about an everyday life that is often
frankly depressing, about political injustice, terror and war.
And
it remains important to raise one's voice, even after the end of the civil war;
for there can still be no talk of an end to the Algerian tragedy and a real
solution to the country's social and political problems.
*
This article was originally published on www.Qantara.de
and has been republished integrally and with permission.
|
