An Egyptian rap star said that Hip-Hop is becoming
increasingly popular among youth in oppressive environments.
In a Reuters report, Egyptian rapper Takki of
MTM said "There are a lot of people doing Arab rap who didn’t feel before
that they had much of a chance. "
The article stated that youth in Arab countries
are bound by strict conventional methods. A United Nation’s Arab Human Development
Report noted that age discrimination was one of several problems in the Arab
world.
Takki and MTM won best modern Arabic act at the
first Arabian Music Awards in Dubai.
"The best thing about rap is that it is
a form of music that criticizes, so it discusses the issues of young people,"
Takki said at the Awards. "It’s really close to young people because it
speaks their language and it speaks about their real-life problems and social
life from their point of view. We really needed this in the Arab world."
The music is so new in the Arab world, performers
have thus far avoided strong language and curse words. In the past, fans of
heavey metal were arrested and accused of "devil worshipping."
MTM’s#### "Ummi Musafra" which translates
to "My Mother’s Away" was about a teenager who has a party when his
mother goes out of town, only to be surprised when she returns early and crashes
the party.