thepoliticalnotebook:

Ramy Essam has a new song, released yesterday, in solidarity with the Syrian revolution. It’s called “Breaking News/خبر عاجل.” I’m personally a huge Ramy Essam fan - I love what he does and this song is wonderful. 

You, the son of Anisa,* we swore we would never accept a vicious murderer.
We will offer up our martyrs til our last breath.
We will not be intimidated by the enmity of a traitor.

Rough English lyrics are in the subtitles and the Arabic lyrics are in the video description. 

I’d also recommend this song, which is one of my favorites of his. As well as checking out his YouTube page for a full look at his work.

*Anisa is Bashar Al-Assad’s mother. Here’s a little primer on who’s who in the Assad family from Wikipedia.

[YouTube; Download on MediaFire]

Tomorrow, a piece on whether or not we should take celebrites like 50 cent, and their penchant for vogue human rights causes, seriously.

thepoliticalnotebook:

Morning Music: Ramy Donjewan’s “Message to Field Marshal Tantawi ( رسالة الي المشير طنطاوي)” He should get more attention for his pro-revolution lyrics than he does. This anti-SCAF piece of his from June is fabulous.

[YouTube]

50 Cent and the Dilemma of the Activist Musician

When rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) travelled to Somalia and Kenya in February with the United Nations’ World Food Program it was ostensibly for good reasons. In the Fall of 2011 he launched an energy drink, Street King, a portion of whose profits go toward the program. Regarding his trip, he said,

“I want to be more, not just an artist, but as a person. My legacy, what’s left behind, I don’t want to be a guy who’s just remembered for writing a few decent songs” (ABC News).

Still, his interest in the World Food Program and launch of his energy drink has been termed in no less terms than “a mid-life crisis.” Fifty Cent gained fame on his thug life persona, known for having been shot nine times. To the media, this is little more than a publicity stunt, 50 Cent as humanitarian the butt of jokes. On return home from his trip, the artist announced that he was going to incorporate some of the things that he’d learned in Somalia on an upcoming album, stating,

“I wanted to keep the record, creatively, in a space where when people listen to it, they just enjoy it before they can really understand what it was I’m saying .. there’s things on it that have double meanings” (Associated Press).

50 Cent is just one face in a crowded field of musician-activists. Frequently working with humanitarian aid causes like the World Food Program, they work to encourage their fan bases to support causes. The likes of Bono and Linkin Park have put this to use in their own non-profit organizations (One and Music For Relief, respectively), and have done so with a minimum of criticism and broad support from their fans. Their social capital to both non-governmental organizations and fanbases increases in value the more integrated into these causes they become. That isn’t to say that they don’t come under fire, as well, certainly Bono has been the butt of more than one joke. But for 50 Cent’s visit to be termed a “mid-life crisis” by a major news organization is to suggest that the rapper shouldn’t be doing work in Africa.

I think this is a disservice to him. The white, affluent audiences of U2 and Linkin Park probably aren’t listening to 50 Cent. He instead reaches an audience that might perhaps be willing to purchase energy drinks and his album and help support those who are starving in Somalia (and elsewhere). The issue of starving children probably holds particular resonance within a community of listeners marked by food oasises and poverty. A rock musician wishing to expand his legacy beyond the purely musical is regarded as a triumph, but a rapper is seen with disdain.

Certainly, there are issues. The idea that a musician is responsible for attempting to fix human rights issues is one seen with disdain, not least because of the necessary simplification of complex social, political, and economic situations. Still, the impulse of musicians to try to initiate change and provide leadership within their communities shouldn’t be seen as a problem; instead, they should be supported in their endeavors and provided the tools to do the work with as much nuance as possible.

50 Cent could prove to become a new leader within rap and hip hop as a harbinger of interest in human rights and other social issues. It is my sincere hope that he doesn’t bury his meanings too deeply on his forthcoming album. If the United Nations was willing to bring him along on a trip to Somalia, it was because they believed he could serve as a goodwill ambassador. He seems truly moved by the experience; drawing connections between his own innercity upbringing and the even more serious plight of children in a country marred by bitter political and social strife and escalating violence.

What do you think? Do musicians have a responsibility to use their fame for issues that are important to them? Or should they stay out of this arena, using their fame to enact change within their own communities at home?

(via Music Freedom Day a Challenge in Zimbabwe | Africa | English)

“Listening to Zimbabwe’s state-owned radio stations, one could get the mistaken impression that all is well in this impoverished country. This song praises President Robert Mugabe crediting him with being a liberator, a visionary and a statesman.

Traditionally, music has been an artistic avenue to express - among other things - political dissent rather than approval of mainstream politics.

Artists here say there is plenty of music in Zimbabwe questioning the government and the order of things. But they say they are being silenced because the only broadcasters, which are state-owned, refuse to air music that is critical of the government, of Mugabe or his ZANU-PF party.”

“I wanted to keep the record, creatively, in a space where when people listen to it, they just enjoy it before they can really understand what it was I’m saying .. there’s things on it that have double meanings.”
—Fifty Cent