I Love Hip Hop in Morocco Review and Analysis

I Love Hip Hop Morocco is a personal insight of rappers trying to make it big while living in the Islamic communities in Morocco. With the struggle that is new age views versus old time traditional conceptions, Morocco has become a place of split cultural views. This film reflects the thoughts and dreams of the true future of the Arab world: its youth. The interviews in this film aren’t of portrayals by the media; these are real humans who live in a land of massively separated community with all different views on world news and worldly topics.

The story begins with a group of Moroccan Hip Hop artists who share a dream to play in a professional concert for a hometown crowd. Unfortunately, resistance is strong in their society and resources scarce. With the help of the American filmmaker, they appeal to the American Embassy for funding and begin the journey that will lead to the 'I Love Hip Hop in Morocco' festival. The youth in this film are the future decision makers and leaders of the world of Arab. These are not the images portrayed by the media; these are the real people, and their views on America, Islam, and the world in general which might surprise more than a few people around the globe. In the recent past, new Moroccan rappers and artists have emerged from juvenescence of the Muslim decent. The first artist I’d like to focus on is the disk jockey that goes by the name of DJ Key. DJ Key was the first artist interviewed, and was easily one of the most interesting. He is a self-taught turntable sensation and he spoke on how he had to make a decision between the Islamic religion and music. His love for music was constantly challenged by his devotion to his Islamic beliefs. Islam forbids the listening or performing of contemporary musical arts such as rap and hip hop. DJ Key chose the music over his beliefs because his love for music was stronger than his feelings towards Islam. The second artist is a young woman named Fatima. Fatima grew up in a healthy household, finding it hard to express herself in any other way; rap became the way of communication that was the most raw and natural to her. She grew up in a community of the Islamic faith and was hard for her to be a rapper, but with that, it was also hard to be a woman in that realm. People she knew underestimated her abilities primarily because she was a woman. Women in the Islamic cultures aren’t seen as people with outstanding potential. They are expected to go to school, work, and home. Fatima didn’t follow this path in life, but she cleared a whole new path for all women in the Islamic culture to follow. Fatima’s family especially influenced the beliefs she has on expressing herself. Her family was supportive of all her ambitions. Fatima’s father experienced the oppression of the Islamic life. Fatima’s father was also a well-practiced musician who had to give up what he loved most in life. He didn’t want Fatima to experience this oppression in her own life. Supporters of rap in Morocco hate Fatima. A female rapper is extremely unorthodox in a society believing that women don’t have potential. This tells us that even young people in the community can influence change in the nature of pop culture.

               Young Moroccan performers are constantly in a battle with their own society. Moroccan rap, a favorite genre for many Moroccans, especially Moroccan youth, speaks out and protests on social and political issues. The young Moroccan rappers were taking stances to help increase their life styles in with increased use of freedom of speech. These “freedom of speech fighters” are against the force of diplomatic bureaucracy. As they continue with the careers they love, they run into problems with their religion. Hip Hop is growing as a cultural influence on the entire world, so it is only natural that Morocco be influenced as well, but the ominous wall they face is their unshakable form of religion that keeps them from one of the most influential forces in the world. Baggy clothes, slang, and edgy lyrics challenge the roots in which the Islam religion is based upon. Artists of Islamic nature negotiate these competing pressures by making hip-hop into an art that they can worship their god by.

               America helped fund the concert by supporting it as a form of freedom of speech. The reason why this could be problematic is because the Moroccan government and society is mainly influenced by the Islamic religion. When a foreign country starts supporting an act that doesn’t serve the government and society, there will tend to be problems with foreign relationships. America wanted to support Morocco’s attempts to retain their rights to freedom of speech and sexual equality. To the groups involved, this kind of support was welcomed and made for the show to be an utter success, but for the groups of people actively involved in the Islamic culture it was something that highly offended and disgusted them simply by the music people played at this festival. The day of the festival, thousands of people gathered for the hip hop festival and the reaction of the crowd was more than just positive. The fans accepted the fact that hip hop was now a way of life, to be accepted and practiced by the people of Morroco.

               Hip hop has taken a leap from being a form of expression, to a great influential part of society that has spread across the globe. Often people take for granted the power and messages cataloged in music, but when used for change, music can change the views all aspects in which an individual can live.