Laughter in the Dark
Egypt to the Tune of Change
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
What can hip-hop tell us about Egypt today?
A decade ago, millions of Egyptians took to the streets in a people-led revolution that captivated the world’s attention and sent ripples across the Middle East. But the so-called “Arab Spring” quickly faded, and a return to the status quo—of authoritarian rule—was cemented. What happened to the energy and desire for change?
In Egypt, the answer lies in its youth, who comprise the bulk of the country’s fast-growing 106 million citizens. Sixty percent of the population is under the age of twenty-five, and their world views are very much influenced by social media: TikTok is their primary language and medium of choice. Music is their means of expression—in particular, a thriving hip-hop scene known as mahraganat. This music has given voice to deep dissatisfaction with the Egyptian state and the overall conditions of Egyptian society and culture. Could this be the start of a force for change? Laughter in the Dark is a riveting portrait of a country that is being transformed, for good or bad, by the rise of a fresh youth culture.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this insightful study, cultural critic El Rashidi (Chronicle of a Last Summer) examines the local hip-hop, rap, and trap scene born out of the 2011 Egyptian revolution that brought down President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year regime. Known as mahraganat, this distinctive Egyptian genre embodies the discontent of Egypt's youth, tackling political, sexual, and socioeconomic realities, and young mahraganat artists such as Ramy Essam performed in Tahrir Square, the center of the uprising. When Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011, Essam's "Sawt Al Horreya" ("The Sound of Freedom") was played on every TV, radio, and satellite channel in the country, according to El Rashidi. But with the contrived election of army general Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as president in 2014, censorship became more extreme, for the first time extending to song lyrics and social media posts. Now, El Rashidi notes, mahraganat artists are prohibited from performing in public venues, and their music is banned on university campuses. But, she argues, a new flowering of free expression has taken hold, and young people now gather to listen to mahraganat in the streets. Told with an insider's perspective—El Rashidi writes with equal authority when chronicling the revolution and analyzing song lyrics—this is a persuasive appraisal of the connection between art and politics.
