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#Jan25 Through 25 Music Videos That Gave it Voice, Part 3

Hope, change, unity, anti-corruption, freedom, dignity, social justice - these are not just words; they are concrete goals protesters in Egypt demanded almost a year ago and are still fighting to fulfill today. And in a revolution that is almost inseparable from its music, they are also the themes that dominate the country’s protest songs, in lyrics that are confrontational, confident, even reflective of music’s place in Egyptian society.

As we end our three-part series on music videos that came out of Egypt’s revolution, we chose this last installment to highlight lesser-known videos that speak more to Egyptian issues post-Mubarak. Observant, insightful, and still full of hope for a renewed future, these videos also take a sharp eye at the Egyptian people, reminding them that if they want to see the revolution through, they need to keep strong in their unity and remember that change doesn’t come by waiting; it comes by action.

Ezzai (How Come) – Mohamed Mounir

Known affectionately as “El Malek” (The King), Mohamed Mounir is a popular Egyptian actor and pop singer who has spent over three decades singing classical Arabic music, Nubian music, blues, jazz and raggae. His song Ezzai (How Come), released shortly after the uprisings began, sounds like a love letter from a broken heart: in this case, Egypt broke the hearts of its people. “Darling, how can you expect/ Me to adore your name, while you/ Keep baffling me, and not feel my kindness. How come?” refrains through the entire song, sung by a group of youth and interspersed with footage from the revolution. Mounir is known for bringing philosophical ideas as well as passionate social and political commentary into his songs, and Ezzai is no different, speaking not only on the Egyptian regime’s corruption, but its betrayal of its people as well.

Watch the video here

Tanam Ya Fadim (Yes Sir) – Sabry and Digla

Like several of the protest songs that came out of Egypt’s revolution, Tanam Ya Fadim, written by Egyptian rock band Digla, was actually written several years prior, in 2008. According to band member Karim El Borollossy,

"They [band members Tarek El Borollossy and Omar Raafat] wanted for once to write and produce a decent Arabic song, one that is different from their usual style and beyond their range of expertise. They found their inspiration one night as they were sitting on the balcony of Tarek's house when they heard a simple draftee by the name of Sabry singing to himself Egyptian folklore music on the street. Finding his voice captivating, they approached him with the idea of writing a song together."

Digla and Sabry finished recording Tanam Ya Fadim in December 2010 and were trying to figure out a release date when protests erupted in Tahrir Square. Realizing the timeliness of the song’s message, Digla released it in the midst of uprisings as a tribute to the heroes of the revolution.

With lyrics such as “Yes, sir/ Yes, sir/ You who have shown me nothing but torture,” set against a heavy table beat and oriental instruments and accompanied by some of the most powerful and graphic images to come out of the revolution, Tanam Ya Fadim is a provocative and demanding song, a direct hit at the oppression and corruption of Mubarak’s regime.

Watch the video here

Lyrics – Translation courtesy of Karim El Borollossy:

Aye Aye sir, always a grand salute to you Sir who's shown me nothing but

agony and humiliation

I blame you O' fate, I only blame you You've taken away my nearest and

dearest I feel lost and abandoned My emotions pain, and my mind has

gone astray My soul weeps precious tears

Aye Aye sir, always a grand salute to you Sir who's shown me nothing but

agony and humiliation

No longer is there fidelity, O' life what have you done to mankind O' life

you made me gulp down the bitter cup of sorrow Why is it O' life that the

worthy get trampled underfoot? Betrayal has become your pattern

Enough is enough; no longer shall I submit

Aye Aye sir, always a grand salute to you Sir who's shown me nothing but

agony and humiliation

Esla7at (Reforms) – Shiftz, featuring Maryam

For Egyptian singer/songwriter/actress Maryam Saleh, writing a protest song was nothing out of the ordinary, especially after being raised by Sheikh Emam, one of Egypt’s legendary voices in music about resistance and freedom.

Shiftz is the brainchild of Lebanese music producer Zeid Hamdan, who also founded Lebanese electro-pop band Soap Kills in 1997 and is currently the front man of the band Zeid and the Wings. No stranger to resistance music himself, Hamdan was arrested this past summer for defamation of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in his 2008 song General Sulaiman and its final line: “Go home, General Sulaiman.” Almost immediately fans mobilized, creating a Facebook page that attracted more than 2500 supporters and a Twitter campaign around the hashtag #FreeZeid. Hamdan was released from prison later that day.

Hamdam represents Maryam through his independent music promotion and management company Lebanese Underground. The two have been touring together since 2010, and they’re expected to release an album sometime this year. Esla7at (Reforms), which they released during the revolution, does not just merely react to Egypt’s current events; it goes deeper, scrutinizing the corruption of Mubarak’s regime and how it has affected both the country’s infrastructure and the private lives of its everyday people.

Watch the video here

Lyrics – Translation courtesy of Anti-Corruption Music

You read things in the newspapers

Political Reforms.. and Zika's death

Discovery of ancient mummies

Go boy, fetch the news stories

You'll find an accident in this country

That Outa got paralyzed

That his patience melted in the salt factories

That Bisa, the kids' elder sister,

cannot find a husband, just like all the girls

That Nadia fell down

That veiled Fatma came back to town

That Shokri decided to be a drug dealer

That your evil is mine

That your hunger is a wild cat

What do you do when you're naked

You get chosen by the cold

Time is passing by

And its not over yet

There are those with fortune

And no one knows how

If you shout it out, you're dead

And its not over yet

Time is passing by

And I'm still reading the newspapers

Reforms.. and Zika's death

and the discovery of ancient mummies

Ya El Medan (Hey Square) – Cairokee, featuring Aida El Ayouby

“Hey, hey Square/ Where have you been all this time?” is the question Cairokee lead singer Amir Eid repeatedly asks in the softly eloquent song Ya El Medan (Hey Square). The band, whose name is a blend of the words Cairo and karaoke to symbolize their “singing along” with Cairo, is more widely known for their first post-Jan25 music video Sout Al Horeya (The Song of Freedom), which they recorded with Wust El Balad’s lead singer Hany Adel.

What sets Ya El Medan apart from Sout Al Horeya is the time that elapsed between the two and the reflection that came as the ecstasy of Mubarak’s resignation wore down. Released as a solidarity protest song last February, Sout Al Horeya is a celebration of Egyptian’s victory, and what made it so visually stimulating was the way it was shot: not with footage from the revolution, but with simple camera work from within Tahrir Square that follows Eid and Adel as they sing as well as stationary shots of demonstrators singing along.

Ya El Medan came nine months later, featuring Egyptian singer/ songwriter/guitarist Aida El Ayouby, released in November 2011. Once again, the band made a conscious choice not to use media footage and instead created beautifully diffused camerawork that takes viewers into a protester’s living area and alludes to elements that strengthened the uprisings through shots of the everyday items that became the revolution’s tools: a handwritten speech near a microphone, a coat riddled with bullet holes by the front door, a megaphone surrounded by cosmetics on a vanity, a Facebook message on an iPhone. Tenderly, the song tells Tahrir Square all the good that happened within it, but in the wake of sustained military control over the country, also the fear that the revolution will fade away in vain: “We have to change ourselves with our hands./ You gave us a lot and the rest is up to us./ Sometimes I worry that you’ll become a memory./ That you’ll become distant from us and the idea will die./ And we’ll go back and forget what happened./ And tell stories about you in our tales.”

Rather than focus on the protest events themselves, Ya El Medan finds its power in its love for Tahrir Square, and it uses that strength to caution us all that the revolution is not yet done. The song is a sensitive yet determined call for refreshed unity, reminding Egyptians that they need to stay persistent in continuing the revolution until all their Jan25 demands – freedom, dignity, social justice – have been met.

Watch the video here

Higher (Tribute to Egypt) – Patriarch, Ghazi and Kaotiq, featuring Anna

In almost the same structure as #Jan25, which we featured last week, Higher is a collaboration between West Coast Arab-American rappers Patriarch, Ghazi and Kaotiq, featuring vocals from American singer Anna. Set against a montage of still shots taken during the uprisings, the song is their tribute to demonstrators and a renewed Egypt.

Watch the video here

3ashan Baladna – Maged Sabry, featuring Rafeel Nassief

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Watch the video here

Rebel – Arabian Knightz, featuring Lauryn Hill

Here at Aslan Media, we can’t seem to get enough of Egyptian hip hop trio Arabian Knightz, who we named one of five Arab music artists to watch in 2012 and featured last week in this series’ second installment with their protest song Not Your Prisoner. Rebel, released at the same time, was written before the revolution, but remained censored by the government because of its calls for internal uprisings. The group decided to finally record it during the protests, and the day Internet was restored after its week-long shutdown, Rebel was released on YouTube and became an instant viral hit. With rough samples featuring American artist Lauryn Hill, Rebel packs punch after punch with its confrontational lyrics against Mubarak’s government:

They killed us, slaughtered us, put us behind bars

Tortured us, robbed us, scared us, terrorized us and ignored us

But the Egyptian people won’t die. They will conquer.

My country is your country

My money, your money

And enslaving us must end.

Written as an “awakening to a new sensibility in [the] country,” Rebel is a jolt of reality that reminds us that we can’t wait for change; we have to take it in our own hands.

Watch the video here

Long Live Egypt – Scarabeuz, featuring Omima

We end this series with the last and 25th song in our selection of protest music that gave the Egyptian revolution voice. While not an intricate song by any means, what made half-pop, half-hip hop Long Live Egypt a semi- official anthem of the uprisings was its singability. The tune is catchy, the lyrics easy to remember, and while Long Live Egypt didn’t catapult to the fame of Ramy Essam’s Irhal, it still caught aflame for protesters who wanted to boost their morale something fun that didn’t take too much musical skill to learn. As the final song in this series, Long Live Egypt reminds of the defiant idealism and hope that began the revolution, and the persistent unity that Egyptians need to sustain in order to see it through.

Watch the video here

Be sure to check out Parts One and Two to see other music videos that captured the spirit of the Egyptian revolution.

*Photo Credit: Art-AK

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