The Soundtrack to the Arab Spring

The Takeaway

Since its humble beginnings in the Bronx during the 1970s, hip hop has become a global musical phenomenon with attendant forms of style and protest. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of hip hop’s recent impact is in the Arab world where formed the soundtrack to the revolution with rappers like Hamada Ben Amor from Tunisia, Cheikh Oumar Cyrille from Senegal, and Mohamed el Deeb from Egypt. Sujatha Fernandes is author of “Close to the Edge: In Search of the Global Hip Hop Generation.”

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