Hip-Hop in Morocco

Hip hop music originated within early-1970s block parties in New York City, specifically African American and Hispanic sections of the Bronx, as an alternative to ethnic gangs that proliferated during that era. Since Hip hop came into being, it has been a pronoun of underdogs. It usually rises in areas that are undesirable and backward and people like to sing it to complain about their dissatisfactions about life so hip hops are somehow related to negative sides. It is understandable that hip hop is a new contemporary music in Morocco and is hard to be accepted in a short time by a conservative and not open-minded country like Morocco.

A hip hop player named Othamma in the documentary said that they were forbidden a lot and never allowed to use four-letters words in songs and American hip hop can have words like that why they cannot have the right to write those songs. Cursing in songs and speaking them out make him feel great. Actually swearwords are part of the nature of hip hop for they serve as a tool to vent people’s angers and resentments to society; they are also denotations that people can say what they want. When Morocco rappers are excited about using bad words in music, it shows they actually want to express their opinions without restriction. The etymology of Islam is voluntary submission to god; so people faithfully demonstrate their submission by worshipping and following god’s commands and reject any other polytheism. Polygyny is permitted and women are regarded inferior to men and are less capable than men in any field. The rapper, Fati, proved that girls can do whatever boys can do. She kept her faith in Islam, got good grades at school and devoted a lot in hip hop, being a good rapper. She blew people’s mind about what a girl can achieve in Morocco. In the concert she put up with audiences’ yelling and distain before her performance. It is really tough for a girl to face with it. Even though the social circumstance was not favorable,

fortunately, her parents backed her up without hesitation for her father dreamed about being a singer in his childhood but the dream was terminated by his parents, so he understood how wrong to deprive kids’ dreams.

Although there are dissents and resistance towards Morocco hip hop, these hip hop artists stick with what they believe is right and valuable. People are uncomfortable with it because hip hop is kind of challenging their traditional view about the meaning of music and their religious expectation. Any new area needs pioneers to make the majority accept it and that’s exactly what these rappers are up to. Spreading hip hop doesn’t mean denying or discarding one’s own culture and faith, instead, Morocco hip hop embeds youth’s animosity against terrorists and their willingness to make changes or progress to a better future. They combined American hip hop style with Morocco elements into songs, which makes their culture multiple and fresh and adjust to the trends of globalization. They don’t fight back when people disapprove them; they just insist on music and let their songs talk. This is the nature of Morocco hip hop.

Nowadays, the tendency of globalization has become irresistible and overwhelming. Morocco youth set America as a model and reference to measure their level of civilization and democracy. That’s why they compare their hip hop with American’s and consider American ones as standard to progress their own music. However, this kind of deed tends to enrage and dismay the dominators and the popes, which may trigger potential fights or wars. Besides, on the one hand, Americans will be happy for their culture and values are spread around the world; on the other hand, spare funds on Morocco may be regarded as unnecessary by American tax payers.

Anyway, believe it or not, in an era of globalization, although connections among different nations and races can be enhanced, the variety of cultures will be threatened for as much as there must be some mighty countries use their cultures to impact on or even take the place of other countries culture, during which wars and fights are unavoidable. Is globalization a good sign or terrible sign? The question needs considering.