Hip-hop idols
Saturday, May 15, 2004Here is an interesting photo that I took recently. Sorry, the quality isn't too good so click on the photo to get the larger version. The picture shows the boundary wall of a nursery school in Bahrain with some graffiti sprayed on it. On the panel on the right hand side is spray-painted "ya Allah" (O Allah). On the left side panel, if you look closely, you will see that "2PAC" has been spray-painted by someone else, referring to the murdered rapper Tupac Shakur. It is quite interesting that these two specific phrases were chosen. I think it is a good illustration of the extent of globalization in a place such as Bahrain, and the often surprising identities it creates. :)
5/15/2004 07:26:00 pm
Osama’s getting jiggy with it? Although totally bizarre, there is something apt about this synthesis between Islamic extremism and rap that you’ve highlighted in this post and your previous one about the Al-Qaeda hip hop track. The culture of violence and resentment that is at their core means that there’s a lot of cross over appeal for fans of both in this region. And neither rap fans nor Islamic fundamentalists are big on irony so they probably don’t appreciate how bizarre they look.
One of the funniest things about the Ajram riot was the way many of the Islamic rioters were dressed in the urban street gear so beloved of the rap world.