Out of all the new media phenomena the Internet has borne in these past 15 years, what is deemed worthy to become a Youtube “smash hit” must be the most unpredictable. Kids opening christmas gifts containing video games, Hollywood actors scolding staff on the set and cats doing an odd jump or two all have gained tens of millions of views to the surprise of their uploader’s.
Little did Libya’s long time dictator Muammar Gaddafi know that he was next in line when he made a televised appearance on February 22nd, 2011. It was a furious speech, one that would contribute to his downfall more so than any of his previous provoking rants. In it we saw an animated Colonel Gaddafi calling for the tracking down and killing of Libyan revolutionaries, “house by house, lane by lane” or “dar dar, zenga zenga”.
Later that day his speech calling for bloodshed was cut up, auto tuned, dubbed over a frenetic house beat and uploaded to Youtube by Israeli musician Noy Alooshe. By the end of that week The United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1970, allowing armed humanitarian intervention in Libya to stop the speech from being realised. By the close of that week and five days after the initial post “Zenga Zenga-song” had gained half a million views. It has since passed five million six months later.
All over Northern Africa and the Middle East we have seen the sweeping revolutions soundtracked by political rap and dance music such as Noy Alooshe’s Youtube satire. Music has often trailed grassroot movements; where poets once used to be the stars for previous generations rappers are the new equivalent for this generation.
In Tunisia one of the strongest voices of criticism of then President Ben Ali came from a 21 year old named Hamada Ben Amor, or better known as rapper El Général. Since the age of 18, El Général has been rapping about injustices in his country. In early December 2010 he uploaded a video to Youtube that would come to inspire many a youth to take to the streets. The song “Rayes Lebled” or “Mr. President” was El Général criticisms of President Ben Ali for all the suffering he saw amongst his fellow citizens. However unpolished, the words of El Général reached all the way into the deep corridors of power resulting in the rappers arrest on January 6, 2011. But by then there were many to continue carrying the message from “Rayes Lebled”. Today the former president, Ben Ali is hiding in Saudia Arabia with a 35 year jail sentence waiting for him in his former home of Tunisia.
The Arab Spring has certainly shown what the masses are capable of when they put aside their fear of consequences and fear of their oppressors. What role has the music of Noy Alooshe and El Général played in this? It helped to transform a message that was silently felt by many, re-packaging it with energetic music and a simplified message that the masses could easily rally around. If you can laugh at your dictator or tell him straight to his face what is wrong with his rule, it is unlikely that you will do what the authorities tell you.
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About
Michael Thorsby| PMKFA is an art director based in Tokyo, Japan. He occasionally writes, guest contributing editorial and interviews on topics of particular interest. Since his youth, he has keenly been interested in politics. In 2001 the calamity of 9/11 brought to light the complexities of present day global relations. Ever since, he has ardently remained abreast of global debate and discussions, drawing and laying out positions and arguments to apprehend the ongoing puzzle of modern day political machinations.
