April 27. 2011
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Rap as Weapon of Resistance in Libya
Music defines anger at
decades of repressive rule
I (A
A P)
Pl
—
I 1 hvîin rebel
rpKé'l fighter
f i fvhtnr Jaad
I'io/d
- Libyan
Jum aa H ashm i cranks up the vo l
um e on his pickup truck's stereo
w hen he heads into battle against
M oam m ar G adhafi's forces.
He looks for inspiration from a
grow ing cadre o f am ateur rappers
w hose pow erful songs have helped
define the revolution.
T he m usic captures the anger
and frustration young L ibyans feel
at decades o f repressive rule under
G adhafi, driving the 27-year-old
H ashm i forw ard even though the
heavy m achine gun bolted on the
back o f his truck — and other w eap
ons in the rebel arsenal — are no
m atch for G adhafi's heavy artillery.
"It captures the youths' quest for
freedom and a decent life and gives
us m otivation," H ashm i said as he
sat in his truck on the outskirts o f
the front line city o f A jdabiya. He
w as listening to "Y outh o f the R evo
lution," w hich the rap group M usic
M asters w rote ju st days after the
uprising began in m id-February.
"M oam m ar, get out, get out, gam e
over! I'm a big, big soldier! "sang 20-
y e a r -o ld M ila d F a ra w a y , w h o
ctnWad
,
i_ his
started M u sic M asters
w • < ith
friend and neighbor. 22-year-old
M oham m ed M adani, at the end o f
2010.
R ather than grabbing A K -47s and
heading to the front line w ith other
rebels to fight G adhafi's forces, Far-
a w a y a n d M a d a n i s ta y e d in
B enghazi, the de facto capital o f
rebel-held eastern Libya, and picked
up a m icrophone.
"Everyone has his ow n w ay o f
fighting, and my w eapon is art,"
said Faraw ay, a geology student,
during a recent recording session in
a small room on the fourth floor o f an
aging apartm ent building in d o w n
to w n B en g h azi. T h e ro o m w as
eq u ip p ed w ith little m ore than a m i
crophone, stereo and com puter.
The room w as decorated w ith a
large red, black and green rebel flag
and a fram ed photo o f the G uns N'
R oses guitarist Slash. Faraw ay and
M ad an i sm o k e d c ig a re tte s an d
sipped steam ing glasses o f sw eet
tea as they recorded lyrics for their
latest song, a tribute to cities caught
up in the revolution.
T he freew heeling rap scene de-
Mohammed Madani, a.k.a. Madani Lion, and Milad Faraway,
a.k.a. Dark Man, are part o f the freewheeling rap scene in Libya,
part o f a growing cadre o f amateur rappers whose powerful songs
have helped define the anger and frustration young Libyans feel
at decades o f repressive rule under Moammar Gadhafi.
veloping in B enghazi indicates how
m uch has changed in eastern L ibya
in the past tw o m onths. Speaking
out against G adhafi before the re
bellion used to m ean prison and
m aybe even death. A nd rap, like
other form s o f W estern culture, was
despised by G adhafi, w ho burned
foreign m usical instrum ents and
books after he seized pow er in 1969.
"I alw ays wanted to talk about
G adhafi’s m istakes and crimes, but
we never had the chance for free
speech," said M adani, w ho is the son
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o f a fam ous local singer in Benghazi
and works part-time in his family'scell
phone and car parts shops. "All you
could talk about was how good
G adhafi's revolution was."
Faraw ay, w ho like m any rappers
in B enghazi is' know n by his nick
nam e, "Dark M an," and M adani,
aka "Madani Lion," form the core o f
M usic M asters, but the co m p o si
tion o f the group has changed over
tim e. O ne o f the rappers quit ju st
after the uprising started because
he feared being targeted by Gadhafi's
thugs, M adani said. T he group re
cently added 24-year-old Rami Raki,
aka "R am Rak," w ho grew up in
M anchester, England.
"G adhafi, open your eyes w ide
and you w ill see that the Libyan
people ju s t broke through the fear
barrier," sang the group R evolution
Beat in their song "17 February," a
reference to the so-called "D ay o f
Rage" w hen protesters took to the
streets in several tow ns and clashed
w ith security forces.
R oughly a dozen rap songs re
corded since the start o f the reb el
lion have been put on C D s w ith
rebel-inspired album covers and are
av ailab le fo r sale in d o w n to w n
B enghazi. O ne co v er has a draw ing
o f fighters on a captured G adhafi
tank flying the rebel flag.
Som e o f the songs m ix A rabic
and E nglish, a testam en t to the
A m erican origins o f rap. W hen the
rappers perform in public, w hich is
rare, they w ear baggy pants, T-shirts
and baseball caps typical o f m any
A m erican rappers.
Rap is not the only style o f m usic
that has been used to create a n
them s for the revolution, but M utaz
al-O beidi, a 23-year-old m em ber o f
Revolution Beat, said it was uniquely
p o sitio n e d to ap p eal to L ib y a ’s
y o u th .
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the g irl’s body and understand the
truth behind h er disappearance.
Searchers from the M ultnom ah
C ounty S h e rriff s office, w ith assis
appearance and m urder.
“N ow is the tim e for those people
to com e forw ard and cooperate with
th e in v e s t ig a ti o n a n d h e lp
tance from dozens Y ash an ee’s fam ily reach som e c lo
o f search and res sure,” Sim pson said.
C r im e s to p p e r s
cue
v o lu n te e r s ,
C rim e Stoppers o f O regon, which
has issued a new
c o n d u cted a c o m is an organization to prevent and
alert for inform ation
plete search o f the solve crim e throughout the state, is
into the suspected
R ocky Butte area in offering a rew ard o f up to $ 1 .(XX) in
m urder and d isap
n o rth east Portland cash for inform ation that assists in
pearance o f a P ort
to look for evidence, the case or any unsolved felony.
land teen ag er and
b u t the b o d y has
Ya sh an ee’ s Fam ily is also taking
the fam ily o f the girl
yet to be located.
increased action to help raise funds
h a s s c h e d u le d a
A c c o r d in g to for the search.
fundraiser and G o s
Sgt. Pete Sim pson,
A barbeque fundraiser will be
pel celebration as it
the Public Inform a held on Sunday, M ay 1, next door to
m akes new appeals
tion O fficer for the the G reater Solid R ock C hurch from
for help.
P ortland Police B u 1:30p.m. to5p.m . at 1725N.E.Dekum
I t ’s b e e n fiv e Yashanee Vaughn
reau, hom icide d e St.
w e e k s s in c e 14-
tectives believe that
The M aranatha C hurch will also
year-old Y ashanee V aughn w as re- additional people throughout the hold a G ospel celebration o f the life
ported m issing and believed m ur- area have inform ation surrounding o f Y ashanee V aughn on Friday, M ay
dered on M arch 19. Efforts continue V au g h n ’s w hereabouts and could 6, located at4 2 2 2 N .E . 12th Ave. The
throughout the com m unity to find possibly be involved w ith her dis-
ev en t w ill begin at 6:30 p.m.
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