Algeria’s Tamed Rappers

While some rappers in Algeria have supported reform, they have largely not spoken out in favor of sweeping political change. Now the Algerian government is preparing to promote some of these young artists and their not-so-revolutionary messages.

Unlike their Tunisian and Moroccan counterparts, Algerian rappers have been largely silent concerning current events. The majority of famous artists have avoided addressing political developments. The minority that have discussed such issues largely toed the official line.

One year ago, the Canadian-based Algerian rapper Solo Montana released his music video J’accuse. The song insinuated that the military was pushing the country to the brink, and called for a “break with the logic of the generals.”

Some saw this as heralding the return of Algerian rap to the forefront, as popular protests escalated and hopes grew that peaceful change could be brought about as in Tunisia and Egypt.

But these expectations proved mistaken. The storm passed and the rappers stepped back from confronting the regime.

“The speed of events didn’t give most rappers a chance to understand what was going on,” says Paris-based rapper Faouzi Attentat, explaining why Algerian rap went cold. “Reports in the media were conflicting. Everyone was talking about conspiracy theories. A lot of people got confused.”

Foreign conspiracies have been all the rage in Algerian political discourse since the first half of last year. The regime has tried to defend itself and defuse simmering social anger by circulating all sorts of rumors and fallacies. Some rappers fell for them.

They include Karim Gang. He began his musical career with Soldats de L’Est (Soldiers of the East), a band which gained fame with songs angrily protesting the general situation in the “land of the million-and-a-half martyrs.”

Yet last November, Karim Gang came up with a music video titled The Leader is not Dead. It features a tribute to Muammar Gaddafi, coupled with a threat to the rebels who overthrew him and an explicit call for retaliation: “You low-life. I swear by God we’ll torch you…we’ll set you on fire…you NATO revolutionaries. How do you think?...The man’s wounded and a prisoner. Why would you kill him?” he raps.

The self-styled “dangerous rapper” said he spoke out in defense of the former Libyan leader because he was convinced that “Gaddafi played a positive role in serving Libya and protecting its shared interests with Algeria.”

Fellow rapper Fares Ould Alma agrees. One of his songs speaks out against change in Algeria, linking the “Arab Spring” to a Zionist scheme to take over the region.

Historically, Algerian rap played a formative role in political protest in the wider Arab Maghreb. It emerged in the wake of the street protests that flared in October 1988, initially as a form of hard rock. Bands like Antique, Hama Boys, and M.B.S criticized the political situation from early on, before rap caught on in Morocco and then Tunisia.

Today, however, the rap scene in Algeria is a shadow of what it was. The renowned rapper Lotfi Double Kanoun, whose popularity grew after recording a duo album with singer Wahhab, moved to France. From there he began to address his fans through YouTube videos urging them to keep calm and not fall for calls to revolution.

Faouzi Attentat argues that the reason Algerian rappers are so unfocused is that there are no inspiring figures offering political leadership. He says that demonstrations are led by established politicians like Said Saadi, leader of the Assembly for Culture and Democracy party, “whose speeches are not aimed at changing things, but impressing Western television channels.”

While rappers in Tunisia and Morocco have supported their countries’ revolutions through their belief in change, their Algerian counterparts are still searching for something to unite them.

Amid an overwhelming sense of stagnation and frustration, the regime has been seeking to exploit the voices of the youth to serve its purposes. The National Office of Culture and Information – which organizes Algeria’s major festivals – is planning a popular festival for young rappers in the capital, Algiers. It will be headlined by Lotfi Double Kanoun.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.