Music in Global America Main Menu COURSE INTRODUCTION AFRICAN MUSICAL TRADITIONS AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC GLOBAL RAP AND HIP HOP CUBAN MUSIC IN AMERICA CALYPSO, SOCA, AND CARNIVAL IRISH AND IRISH-AMERICAN MUSIC K-POP — POPULAR MUSIC OF SOUTH KOREA MUSIC OF THE ARAB WORLD AND ARAB AMERICANS KLEZMER The Music of Ashkenazi Jews and Its Extensions in the 20th/21st Centuries NORTENO & TEJANO THE MUSIC OF NORTHERN MEXICO AND MEXICAN-AMERICANS

CONTEMPORARY POPULAR MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD

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Rock, rap, and hip hop are popular and accessible musical genres in most areas of the Arab world, but are often subject to the approval of, and banning by, governmental agencies that oversee culture and music.  Music videos or songs that feature profanity, glorify drugs, or mock political leaders are forbidden. Music that promotes LGBTQ themes, is perceived as anti-religious, or contains highly sexualized content is banned from broadcasts and live performances. Song lyrics in some countries are subject to pre-approval by government agencies. Restrictions range from most restrictive — UAE, Egypt, Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen — to least restrictive — Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. 

Presented here are some of the most important recent developments in contemporary popular music in Egypt, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. 

EGYPT

MAHRAGANAT

Growing out of shabbi in the early 21st century was the musical genre Mahraganat (literally, "festivals"), the independent underground music of working class Cairo youth using mixing apps and beats found on the web. Heavy auto-tuning, fast tempos and simple rhythms combined with lyrics often tackling political and social issues appealed to the many young people of Egypt in the years following the Spring Revolution.

Mahraganat has become a wildly popular musical genre appealing to youth of all classes. While the average annual income in Egypt is approximately $2,000, top Mahraganat artists can make $1 million on streaming and performances. But in 2020 the powerful state-affiliated Egyptian Musicians Syndicate banned all mahraganat performances, deeming the lyrics immoral and the music itself as "trash" and drawing condemnation from the International Federation of Musicians. 

Nevertheless, Mahraganat artists exploit loopholes in the ban by registering as under the category of "vocal performer" and subjecting lyrics to censorship rules. "We want a decent [popular music scene]" said Hani Shaker, head of the EMS. "We will listen to every song as well as the Central Censorship of Works of Art (CACWA), and then we will decide whether this song will pass or not." [Adham Youssef, BBC, June 2021] Performers must also hire at least twelve musicians for a backup band. Mahraganat musicians also operate outside of the purview of the EMS, performing for private events and posting songs on streaming platforms. 

Omar Kamal, Hassan Shakosh, "Bent El Geran" ("The Neighbor's Daughter") (2019)"In its first week on Soudcloud "Bent El Geran" jumped to the number 2 spot on their global chart, attracted 4.4 listeners in just one week." [shira.net] The song contains the lyric, "If you leave me I will drown my sorrows in alcohol and hashish." This line is what led to the ban on marhaganat. 

Oka Wi Ortega,"El3ab Yala" ("Play Aaround") (2017)

Oka Wi Ortega is a seminal duo that helped put mahraganat on the map globally by writing and producing era-defining anthems. This track became a viral sensation throughout the Arab world upon its release. The song is a humorous depiction of an inner dialogue between a person trying to stay on the right path and the devil (Iblis) trying to distract them. After an introductory section featuring oud, the song kicks into high gear with  steady beat and syncopated rhythms produced by a drum machine that replicates the sounds of a darbuka and other synthesized sounds,  Short low-pitched vocal phrases in the verse are echoed by an autotuned voice or what sounds like a low-pitched ney, and alternate with a shouted call-and-response chorus. 
 
RAP, HIP HOP, TRAP
 
Ahmad Mekky is an Egyptian actor, writer, director, and rapper. Mekky has many hits recordings and is well known for his 2009 patriotic song "Masr Baldy" ("Egypt Is My Home").  He began his career in the Egyptian cinema after graduating from the directing division at the Institute of Cinema in Cairo.
Zap Tharwat is an underground poet and rapper from Egypt who rose to fame during and after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Born Ahmed Tharwat in Jordan, his songs tackle many of the social and political problems faced by Egyptians in the second decade of the 21st century.  He continues to be the voice of young Egyptians, releasing several hits including  "ba7lam" and "meen el Sabab". [last.fm]


Since 2020, the youth-driven hip-hop and trap scene has exploded, quickly becoming a mainstream staple on regional radio and streaming platforms. This subgenre often blends Western trap production with local slang and personal narratives about youth struggles
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2020 -2022 was a breakthrough period for rap and trap music in Egypt. Three musicians are recognized for creating a new form of 

Wegz, "B.B. King", with Dahoum Al-TalasiAhmed Ali (b. 1998), known by his stage name Wegz. He is credited with moving the Egyptian rap scene from underground to mainstream with the core foundational track TNT (2018) and his 2020 hit "Dorak Gai" ("You're Next"), by combining shaabi street music with U.S. southern trap and introducing street slang that caught the attention of young Egyptians. "Dorak Gai" accumulated more than 24 million YouTube views within two months of release. Wegz has constantly experimented with different genres and influences  In 2022, his 2022 crossover single "El Bakht" (البخت, "Luck"), a song about unrequited love, left behind his earlier hard-edged aggressive style. El Bakht" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Arabia Hot 100 and was named the most-streamed song in the Arab world that year. He has been the most-streamed artist in Egypt on Spotify  for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), and in December 2022 was named Spotify's most-streamed Arab artist across the MENA region.

Marwan Pablo, "Bono" (2025) Marwan Aahmed Motawea (b. 1995), better known by his stage name Marwan Pablo (مروان بابلو) is one of the pioneers of trap music in Egypt, for which he is often nicknamed "The Egyptian Godfather of Trap." His best known single from 2020/2021 are El Gemeza and Ghaba.


Marwan Mousa (b. 1995) is an rapper and music producer of German and Egyptian descent. Spotify data from 2023 show Moussa as the third most streamed Arab rap artist of all time across the MENA region. Moussa was awarded Best African Rapper/Lyricist at the All Africa Music Awards in 2022, and Egyptian Artist of the Year in 2025 by BIAF (Beirut International Awards Festival). 
Lyrics of "Batal 3alam"in English
"Batal 3alam" ("World Champion) (2022)


MOROCCO

The rise of rap also signals a broader cultural shift. Moroccan listeners, particularly younger ones, are showing greater openness to contemporary musical experiments and a faster response to new releases. Streaming platforms have become a mirror of youth sentiment, reflecting everyday realities and offering music that speaks in a language listeners recognise as their own. As new talents continue to emerge and international interest in North African music grows, Moroccan rap appears poised for even greater visibility, both domestically and globally. With record-breaking streaming figures and a growing presence at international festivals, the genre is no longer a passing trend but a cultural phenomenon that captures the spirit and voice of a generation. ["From margins to mainstream, rap redefines Morocco’s music scene," Middle East Online, 2026]

L'BOULEVARD

Rock and Metal are popular in much of the Arab World, but both genres have faced difficulty being accepted. In the late 1990s Egyptian religious hardliners and the press initiated a smear campaign against metal and rock , falsely claiming that rock events were occasions for Satanism, blood-drinking, and orgies. Rock musicians were arrested and panic ensured, with fans destroying cassettes of rock and metal music. A similar crackdown took place in Morocco in 2003 when middle-class headbangers tried to organize a music festival. Police dragged them from their homes and charged them with wooing young Moroccans into Satanism, with a bonus count of promoting prostitution.  Rock music is not overtly banned in Egypt today, but alternative and underground genres face ongoing indirect suppression, heavy bureaucratic hurdles, and occasional crackdowns. Morocco, on the other hand, has embraced Rock and Metal, as well as other modern popular genres. The state now sponsors L'Boulevard, a premier urban and alternative music festival that began in 1999 in Casablanca. L'Boulevard aims to discover and promote underground talent from the MENA region with competitions in which emerging bands in Rap/Hip Hop; Fusion and World Music; and Rock and Metal perform live. 

Political rap in Morocco has been marked by a series of legal cases involving artists whose work was critical of the state. One of the most significant early cases was that of L7a9d (Mouad Belaghouat), who rose to prominence after being imprisoned for lyrics critical of Morocco's King Mohammed VI and police corruption. While party tracks and trap braggadocio dominate the charts, artists like Gnawi continue a legacy of challenging power structures despite facing strict legal crackdowns and censorship.

ElGrandeToto - "Boomx3" (2026)

Taha Fahssi (b. 1996), better known by his stage name ElGrandeToto, has been the most streamed artist in Morocco for five consecutive years , from 2021 to 2025. He was the most listened-to artist in the MENA region on Spotify in 2021 and 2023. He is also the most viewed Moroccan rapper on YouTube. Fahssi is widely regarded as one of Morocco's best rappers of all time.

Stormy - "Ski" (2026)
Yasser El Malih Yasseer El Malih (b. 1997), known professionally as Stormy, is known for his singing and rapping versatility and often listed among the best Moroccan rappers

Manal - "360" (2021)

Manal Benchlikha Manal Benchlikha (b. 1993), better known as Manal, is a singer-songwriter who is known for introducing rap elements into Arabic pop and advocating for female empowerment. 

In 2017, Manal became one of the first Moroccan artists to sign to Sony Music Middle East in the Arab world. In 2018, Manal released her third single Taj (Crown). Due to its music video and a significant departure from Manal's signature sound, Taj started a buzz and garnered millions of views quickly. It is one of the most viewed Arabic rap songs performed by a female artist. In 2021, Manal earned the 'Best Female Artist in Northern Africa' award at the 2021 All Africa Music Awards for the second time in her career.

 

SAUDI ARABIA

VISION 2030 and MDLBEAST

Since 2019, Saudi Arabia has undergone tremendous cultural change, including removing public segregation of sexes, lifting the ban on women driving, concerts and theatres becoming the new norm and religious police losing their authority. The rationale behind its Vision 2030, i.e., the government’s new plan of being a vibrant society welcoming to tourists, so that the reliance on revenue can be shifted from oil to tourism and local spending. [Ranaa Madani, "The new image of Saudi cultural shift; MDL Beast music festival; Saudi Vision 2030," in  Cogent Arts & Humanities, 9(1), 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2022.2105511] 

The Kingdom's cultural awakening includes the historic lifting of the 35-year cinema ban, which has sparked an explosive growth of commercial theaters, public concert spaces, and local production studios. In terms of social transformation, reforming strict guardianship laws and ending the female driving ban have propelled women into the workforce at unprecedented rates, with female labor participation soaring past 34 percent. Catering directly to a population where the majority is under 35, the reforms provide legal and spatial permissions for creative careers in music. 
 

Singer Leesa A took social media by storm when she released a music video of her rapping at the wheel of a car on the day the ban on women driving was officially lifted."I don't need anyone to take me... Drivers' license with me," she sings defiantly to the camera, sitting in the driver's seat of a Hyundai. Until the law officially changed [in 2018], women in Saudi Arabia could not drive and families had to hire private chauffeurs for female relatives.  [Georgina Rennard, "Saudi wastes no time to rap at the wheel," BBC News, June 2018]

As part of Vision 2030, the kingdom hosts MDLBEAST, an annual multi-day festival held in Riyadh. In 2019, the events of the first edition began in the Kingdom with the attendance of around four hundred thousand people. The main musical event, billed as Soundstorm,  focuses primarily on electronic dance music, pop, and hip-hop, but books major international crossover headliners, like Post Malone, Black Eyed Peas, and 50 Cent.  The "Big Beast" theater includes the main shows and accommodates more than firty-five thousand people. According to the Guinness Book of World Records is is longest temporary theater in the world. MDLBEAST is also a record label for productions by local and regional talent, and an online radio station that is "calling all hip hop DJs across the Kingdom" to submit demos.  

ROCK

The historically hidden rock Saudi underground scene is coming to light, driven by the same sweeping cultural reforms as Vision 2030.  Legendary veteran indie-rock bands like Sound of Ruby  (active since 1996) and a growing wave of local metal/grunge acts are transitioning from private basement gigs to playing public, state-sanctioned venues. 

Sound of Ruby "Abu Hadriyah Road" (2023)
Sound of Ruby is an alternative/hoise-rock group. When founded in 1996 by Mohammad Al-Hajjaj in Dammam, rock and alternative music operated entirely under the radar due to strict historical bans and enforcement. The band has released ten albums and compilations. With the reforms of Vision 2030, Sound of Ruby has emerged from the underground and has performed at MDLBEAST festival.

Seera "Shams (شمس)" (2025)

Seera are an all-female Saudi Arabian Arabic-language psychedelic rock band fusing vintage psych sounds with Arabic undertones. In an interview in 2023, when asked about the struggles they faced being a pioneering all-female rock band in Saudi Arabia, Meesha explained “Lately with how things are, it was a  bit more restrictive than before. I never imagined I would be able to do this, but now there's a lot of support. We still got hate comments when we first appeared but it's fine the support overshadowed that hate." Part of that support comes from MDLBEAST Hunna
program supporting women in the regional music industry.
 

RAP AND HIP HOP

Hip hop emerged in Saudi Arabia in the early 2000's driven by cassette sharing and internet expansion. It was initially criticized for the presumed vulgarity of its lyrics. Klash, one of the first rappers, was sentenced to three months in jail in 2007 for profanity and aggressive lyrics. 

Qusai Kheder (b. 1978) was the first professional Saudi hip hop artist. He began in high school by selling tapes of his music from a car trunk. At age 17 he emigrated to the U.S. as a student and stayed for eleven years, playing in Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City. He has performed with US hip-hop artists Ludacris and Akon among others. In 2005, his first two albums sold in the tens of thousands despite having no international distribution or online sales and topped Arab music charts for consecutive weeks. A major turning point in Saudi Arabia’s hip-hop culture came with 2007’s Hip Hop Na (“Our Hip-Hop”), a rap-centered talent search co-hosted by Qusai and his fellow Arab hip hop artist Fredwreck. Hip Hop Na was the first Arabic rap show and the flagship for MTV Arabia. Tours throughout Europe, the Middle East and the United States followed through 2017.

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In Qusai's "The Wedding" (2008) and "Yalla" (2012), lyrical content is "clean" and the videos attempt to portray a positive and moral vision of Saudi society.
Last year it was announced by the Saudi govt that hip-hop would be included in programs by the influential Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts (SASCA), which sponsors and develops Saudi artists. Qysai performed  for a crowd that contained both sexes, reflecting the changing nature of life within Saudi Arabia. Having an artist like Qusai front and center, rapping in English and Arabic, paints a favorable picture of a country looking to reinvent itself to international audiences. It also fits with the narrative of bin Salman's Vision 2030 strategy to make Saudi Arabia more open and moderate. [Heidi Pullyard, "Qusai Kheder, Saudi Arabia's Hip Hop Pioneer," CNN, November 16, 2017]
General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM)
While Saudi Arabia has taken unprecedented steps in reforming social restrictions and encouraging investment in tourism and cultural production, there is growing concern from civil rights organizations regarding the institutionalization of censorship. The GCAM is the enforcement arm for the Media Rules introduced in 2025. The system now formalizes state control over "what individuals post, film, or share, effectively placing limits on art, humor, and personal expression." Mimeta's Memos on Art Censorship, Harassment, Protest and Politics reports that the global reaction to the media rules has been "sharply critical."
Rights watchdogs argue that these new laws deepen the Kingdom’s pattern of silencing dissent. On May 23, 2025, a coalition of 16 organizations—including Reporters Without Borders, SANAD, and the Committee to Protect Journalists—issued a coordinated statement urging Saudi Arabia to end arbitrary detentions of media figures and dismantle systemic repression of free speech. These groups link the media regulations directly to a larger ecosystem of state control that includes surveillance of journalists, travel bans, and the prosecution of online activists.

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