I tuned into Al Arabiya the other day to find this jewel:
A guitar-strumming Libyan rebel. Notice the Bazooka strapped to his back.
He had a raw guttural sound– part gitano ‘Gypsy Kings’ style, part bedouin folk– and bolted out verses in both English and Arabic, swaying with passion:
I’ve criticized Al Arabiya news coverage on this blog, but I must say I did appreciate this piece. It’s a nice break from the constant and somewhat repetitive reporting of upheaval and chaos we’ve been seeing on Al Jazeera and others.
Unfortunately, I caught the tail end of the report and didn’t get the artist’s name.
If anyone has more info or a link to a clip, please forward.
And on a wider note, it would be great to see more Arab satellite stations reporting on the music of these revolutions. Here in Beirut for example, the Lebanese rapper Ashekman has remixed the recent chants recorded from street marches against the Lebanese regime, and created this new track:
The chants Ashekman samples have been heard across the region, mainly “El Shaab youreed Eskat el Nitham” which translates to “the people demand the fall of the regime”.
He also samples a chant I’ve only heard in Beirut, which suited the exercise of street marching through densely populated neighborhoods where people came to their balconies to watch the protestors: “Ya Shaab Al Balcone” –“Oh people on your balcony”, “Inzel le’e shaabuk hon” –“Come down and join your people (down) here”
Music has always played a significant role in revolutions, from Africa to the Americas and the the situation in the Arab world today is no different.
UPDATE:
Great news! Beirut Report reader and good friend Bernie Kwan just sent me part of the Al Arabiya report he found uploaded to youtube. Enjoy:
