Check out Morocco’s latest top 10 hits
and hear Darija DJ stylings on
RealPlayer audio at Radio Casablanca
online: www.maroc.net/newrc.
Marocku-
mentaries
» » This Is Maroc
(2010) Hat Trick
Brothers’ road trip.
» » I Love HipHop in
Morocco
(www.ilovehiphopinmorocco.com)
H-Kayne, DJ Key, Bigg
and other hip-hop
groups struggle to get
gigs.
Despotism from Casablanca and Sidi Kacem’s own Damned Kreation (now Putrid Cadavers). Far from pleather-clad ’80s hair
bands, these Moroccan groups write their own rebellious lyrics, and rock hardcore in black jeans and torn T-shirts.
The metal scene has since outgrown its Sidi Kacem venue, storming the stage at L’Boulevard (www.boulevard.ma),
Casablanca’s May free festival of urban music held at the Casa stadium, and at L’Boulevard’s March showcase for emerging
artists, Tremplin (Trampoline), held at the coolest-ever rock venue: Casa’s anciens abbatoirs (old slaughterhouses). Past
editions of the festivals have focused on hip-hop and electronica, but there’s a jittery excitement when the metal bands take the
stage, and the police re-inforcements brought in to monitor the mosh-pits look distinctly nervous.
With the 2010 editions of L’Boulevard and Tremplin featuring metal headliners and attracting 30,000 spectators over four
days, the mainstreaming of Mo’rock raises another question: once metal goes legit, what’s a Moroccan rebel to do? The
answer seems obvious: go emo’rocco.From Marock to Hibhub
Like the rest of the Arab world, Moroccans listen to a lot of
Egyptian music, but Moroccopop is gaining ground. A
generation of local DJs with cheeky names like Ramadan
Special and DJ Al Intifada have mastered the art of the unlikely
mashup. And so have some of the more intriguing talents to
emerge in recent years: Hobba Hobba Spirit, whose controversy- causing, pop-punk Blad Skizo
(Schizophrenic Country) addresses the contradictions of modern Morocco head-on; Moroccan
singer-songwriter Hindi Zahra, Morocco’s answer to Tori Amos, with bluesy acoustic-guitar
backing; Darga, a group that blends ska, Darija rap, and a horn section into Moroccan surf
anthems; and the bluntly named Ganga Fusion and Kif Samba, who both pound out a
danceable mix of funk, Berber folk music, reggae and jazz. For something completely different,
check out the burgeoning Megadeth-inspired Moroccan metal scene at Casa’s annual
L’Boulevard festival (Click here ).
But ask any guy on the street with baggy cargo shorts and a T-shirt with
the slogan MJM ( Maroc Jusqu’al Mort, Morocco ‘til Death) about
Moroccan pop, and you’ll get a crash course in hibhub (Darija for hip hop).
Meknès’ H-Kayne rap gangsta-style, while Tangier’s MC Muslim raps with
a death-metal growl, and Fez City Clan features a talented but annoying
kid rapper and an Arabic string section. The acts that consistently get
festival crowds bouncing are Agadir’s DJ Key, who remixes hip-hop
standards with manic scratching and beat-boxing, and Marrakesh’s Fnaire,
mixing traditional Moroccan sounds with staccato vocal stylings. Rivalling
Blad Skizo for youth anthem of the decade is Fnaire’s Ma Ktich Bladi
(Don’t Touch My Country), an irresistibly catchy anthem against
neocolonialism with a viral YouTube video.