#RSS * MSN * Hotmail * More + Autos + My MSN + Video + Careers & Jobs + Personals + Weather + Delish + Quotes + White Pages + Games + Real Estate + Wonderwall + Horoscopes + Shopping + Yellow Pages + Local Edition + Traffic + Feedback + Maps & Directions + Travel + Full MSN Index * Bing * msnbc.com sites & shows: * TODAY * Rock Center * Nightly News * Meet the Press * Dateline * Morning Joe * Hardball * Ed * Maddow * The Last Word * msnbc tv * Home * US * World * Politics * Business * Sports * Entertainment * Health * Tech & science * Travel * Local * Weather advertisement * Recommended: A retired teacher's courageous crusade: Tackling neo-Nazi hate * Recommended: After soccer melee, Egypt learns tough lesson: sharing blame * Recommended: Latest violence could signal new phase in Syria conflict * Recommended: Gazans break(dance)ing boundaries World Blog provides a dynamic look at world events and trends from NBC News correspondents, producers, and bureaus around the world. * ↓ About this blog * ↓ Archives * + Icons Email E-mail updates You are subscribed. change this Subscribe () ____________________ Subscribe Loading Saving... + Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter + Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS + IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&s how_faces=false&width=90&action=like&colorscheme=light&href=ht tp://www.facebook.com/worldblog Leave your comment below 15 Sep 2011 6:32am, EDT How rap music fueled the Arab Spring uprisings IFRAME: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39788177?launch=44508127&PG=MSVNA3&BTS=MSVN MB&height=429&width=600 Straight from the hood, it's rap from the street — except the hood is the Arab world, and the streets are countries in turmoil. By Karl Bostic, NBC News A bazaar in Libya's rebel capital of Benghazi might not appear to be the most obvious place to find a would-be Jay-Z. But 18-year-old Boge and many others like him are pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression across the Middle East. The rappers have even been credited with helping to spark the so-called Arab Spring uprisings that deposed three long-serving dictators and rocked several other regimes. Boge, who says he learned English from rap, is following in the footsteps of his hip-hop heroes KRS-One, Nas and Ice Cube. "Our families are dying but yeah we're still tough, Gadhafi is trying to assassinate us," he rhymes during an impromptu performance amid vendors selling flags, shirts and hats in revolutionary colors at a market in the eastern Libyan city where the revolt against Moammar Gadhafi began. advertisement Watch Boge perform in Benghazi, Libya Boge recalls how rap was treated as a criminal offense under Gadhafi's rule. Two of his friends were arrested by the once-feared secret police — who were quick to stamp out any signs of political dissent. __________________________________________________________________ "They used to put us in prison just for rapping," says Boge, who grew up on a diet of Western TV and American hip hop. "I rap to prove something to myself — and the world." IFRAME: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39788177?launch=44506237&PG=MSVNA3&BTS=MSVN MB&height=429&width=600 "Rap is dangerous" to the "system," Libyan rapper 'Boge' tells NBC's Karl Bostic. This phenomenon is not just confined to Libya. Rap music has inspired freedom fighters and pro-democracy protesters from Tunisia to Bahrain. When 20-year-old Tunisian rapper Hamada Ben Amor — known as "El General" — attacked President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a song he posted online late last year it captured the imagination of a population hooked on Facebook and fed-up with injustice. Entitled "Rais Lebled," the song chastised Tunisia's leader for not listening to his people who were "living like dogs" and forced to drink from a "cup of suffering." El General was subsequently arrested but his anthem helped to ignite the spark which eventually ended with thousands of people taking to the streets in January. Ben Ali later fled the country. IFRAME: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39788177?launch=44506893&PG=MSVNA3&BTS=MSVN MB&height=429&width=600 "I'm trying to repair what the ex-government broke," Tunisian hip-hop artist AJ (aka Glorious) says. At one recent concert in Monastir, the youthful crowd was filled with as much love for El General as they were for their country, repeatedly shouting "Vive Tunisie" (Long live Tunisia). The same infectious brand of rap, revolution, and patriotism was evident in Cairo as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office after decades of rule and also amongst Palestinians in the West Bank, who face different challenges in staging their own "thawra" — or revolution. The significant factor is youth: 60 percent people in the Arab world are aged under 30. Rap popularized calls for reform and the Internet spread that message like wildfire. IFRAME: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39788177?launch=44506420&PG=MSVNA3&BTS=MSVN MB&height=429&width=600 Hip-hop artist Omar Offendum tells NBC's Karl Bostic that the youth are fed up with what is happening in the Middle East. Some of the leading names in movement include: * Bahrain-based DJ Outlaw, who is best known for "Arab World Unite,"an anthem which is more about a spirit of togetherness than actual revolution. * Deeb, who works as a financial analyst by day at a Cairo bank but toils away at music as he dreams of a better Egypt. * Syrian-American Omar Offendum, who is considered one of the most eloquent Arab hip hop artists. He lives in Los Angeles. * Dave Kirreh, an Arab who lives in East Jerusalem, who highlights not only problems with the Israelis but also infighting between Fatah and Hamas. * "AJ", the godfather of hip hop in Yemen, was born in Ohio but took his love of funk and rap from the '70s and '80s to the conservative country four years ago. IFRAME: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39788177?launch=44506542&PG=MSVNA3&BTS=MSVN MB&height=429&width=600 Egyptian hip-hop artist 'Deeb' says it is "beautiful" to see hip-hop become the language of revolution. Watch Omar Offendum perform 'The Time is Now' Back in Libya, Boge admits that he hopes rap will give him the opportunity to travel. Following the fall of Tripoli, he will have new songs to sing about a free Libya. IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.faceb ook.com%2Fworldblog&width=292&colorscheme=light&show_faces=false&border _color=ffffff&stream=false&header=false&height=62 Explore related topics: music, egypt, libya, hip-hop, rap, bahrain, tunisia, arab-spring, gadhafi older 13 Sep 2011 12:20pm, EDT Carpet salesman leads hunt for Gadhafi newer 15 Sep 2011 5:20pm, EDT Palestinian UN vote: What is it? Why now? Most popular posts Leave your comment Jump to comments older 13 Sep 2011 12:20pm, EDT Carpet salesman leads hunt for Gadhafi newer 15 Sep 2011 5:20pm, EDT Palestinian UN vote: What is it? Why now? Most popular posts 71 Latest violence could signal new phase in Syria conflict 4 days ago Tweet IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&show_faces =false&width=150&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&href=http://worldbl og.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10273725-latest-violence-could-signal -new-phase-in-syria-conflict 180 A retired teacher's courageous crusade: Tackling neo-Nazi hate 6 hours ago Tweet IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&show_faces =false&width=150&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&href=http://worldbl og.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/03/10301241-a-retired-teachers-courageou s-crusade-tackling-neo-nazi-hate 73 Rebellious Chinese village takes baby steps toward democracy 23 hours ago Tweet IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&show_faces =false&width=150&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&href=http://behindt hewall.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10301516-rebellious-chinese-villa ge-takes-baby-steps-toward-democracy?chromedomain=worldblog 47 After soccer melee, Egypt learns tough lesson: sharing blame 18 hours ago Tweet IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&show_faces =false&width=150&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&href=http://worldbl og.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10303568-after-soccer-melee-egypt-lea rns-tough-lesson-sharing-blame 38 Gazans break(dance)ing boundaries 4 days ago Tweet IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?layout=button_count&show_faces =false&width=150&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&href=http://worldbl og.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10272998-gazans-breakdanceing-boundar ies advertisement advertisement Discuss this post * After entering a Facebook comment, your image and name may display on this page. All privacy settings are controlled within your Facebook account. Browse * featured, * egypt, * china, * afghanistan, * libya, * pakistan, * world-news, * hosni-mubarak, * israel, * japan, * japan-earthquake, * 2010, * middle-east, * tsunami, * richard-engel, * adrienne-mong, * mubarak, * ian-williams, * world-cup, * after-the-wave, * charlene-gubash, * jim-maceda, * bo-gu, * protests, * miranda-leitsinger, * cairo, * gadhafi, * u-s, * london, * germany, * somalia, * iran, * ed-flanagan, * thailand, * italy, * uk, * paul-goldman, * palestinians, * iraq, * claudio-lavanga, * omar-suleiman, * ayman-mohyeldin, * taliban, * britain, * protest, * 9-11 Also advertisement advertisement [worldblog-1664755450.jpg] World Blog NBC News World Blog provides a dynamic look at world events and trends – both big and small – from NBC News correspondents, producers, and bureaus around the world. Online entries – from text to video – explore the latest news events and how they are shaping our world. 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