El General, Rais Labeled
This is an open musical letter was released on November 7th, 2011 to the President of Tunisia asking him to end corruption and poverty. El General was arrested and interrogated for 3 days. This song became the rallying cry for the Tunisian revolution.
This Amel Mathlouthi singing in a crowd during the Tunisian revolution. The English translation of the lyrics are shown as she sings.
Just came across this site, Monodomix, featuring artists from around the world. There is information about Shadia Mansour on the site, but I found another cool feature they offer. Artists are tagged by country in google earth! Check it out!
This is Shadia Mansour, a Palestinian rapper who has worked with a variety of hip-hop artists, including the Narcicyst. This song is called “Kofeyye Arabeyye (The Kufiya Is Arab)”. The Kofeyye is the traditional Arab headdress worn by men. You can read more about the Kofeyye on wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh. Also, the lyrics to this song are in the information section of the youtube video so check them out!
Masha and Marjan Vahdat are Persian traditional singers and musicians who also happen to be sisters. Masha plays the piano and the setar and graduated from the Art University in Tehran in 1993. Marjan plays the frame drum.
This song, “I am Eve” is the title track of their collaborative album released in 2008. The lyrics, which I’ve included below, include references to Tahmina in the Shahnameh, a Persian epic poem written in the 8th and 9ths centuries. Tahmina is the wife of Persian hero Rostam in the story. The poem includes a story of creation, and this song seems to be referring the role of women in creation and Persian culture. Golshan is a Persian word most often used in reference to rose gardens. The references to Eve, gardens, are being used to allude to the creation story, but the last verse seems to leave an ominous message. Note the last two lines “Prisoner of flowers lined, I turned on the sun”. Considering what we have been discussing about the significance of the sun in class and that being away from or behind the sun is an insult, these lines seem to imply that women, or Eve, have been imprisoned from the time creation simply because they are female. This song is set to pictures of protesting women in the Middle East. Very inspiring.
Eve I’m female
I encourage fruitful
Tahmineh and valiant
Golshan I Love You
Tahmineh and valiant
Golshan I Love You
My Eve, my wife
My Eve, my wife
Alghzl bit of me
The creation of poetry
Act as a friendly
I’m a fan of the beautiful
Act as a friendly
I’m a fan of the beautiful
Galactic smoke to heart
I stained gray
Prisoner of flowers lined
I turned on the sun
Here is Natacha Atlas, a Belgian born singer of mixed Middle Eastern descent. She is known for electronic and Arabic hip hop music. Here are the lyrics to this song:
Why are We Fighting? Why are we fighting when we are all together? Listen to you heart and you will know the truth Listen to your heart for it knows the truth Between us there is a long history In love there is peace In peace there is love Let’s make good for we are brothers How great is the mercy and blessing of God Let’s return to peace Between us there is a long history Let’s return to love How merciful God is Let’s make good for we are brothers God bless and have mercy
