Moreno Almeida, Cristina (2015) Critical reflections on rap music in contemporary Morocco : urban youth culture between and beyond state's co-optation and dissent. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/20360 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this PhD Thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This PhD Thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this PhD Thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the PhD Thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full PhD Thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD PhD Thesis, pagination. Critical Reflections on Rap Music in Contemporary Morocco: Urban Youth Culture Between and Beyond State's Co-optation and Dissent Cristina Moreno Almeida Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2014 Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) SOAS, University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: Date: April 22, 2015 2 Abstract This thesis delves into the Moroccan rap scene and contemporary Morocco’s social, political and economic context to examine the role of the state headed by the Makhzen (the Moroccan ruling elites) as main patrons of the arts in its attempt to use rap as a tool for social control. This project explores how, by promoting a ‘modern’ and liberal image of the country through patronage of selective rappers, the country’s elites have honed a particular vision of the nation. It also looks at how other civil society groups have capitalized on rap to fulfill their own political agendas. Though forces conspired to silence certain rappers, voices of dissent that oppose dominant narratives have also emerged. Moreover, this thesis reflects on the different signifiers used to gain an audience and popular support, and the relation of rappers with urban unprivileged youth and their feelings of exclusion. It goes on to provide a nuanced analysis of rappers use of language, urban spaces, national and international music genres. In its analysis, this thesis unravels the Moroccan rap scene both as a music production at the intersection of national and local cultural politics, as well as one influenced by global cultural flows. It also examines how rappers reimagine national identity and the politics of patriotic rap songs. By presenting the complexities of the rap scene, this thesis aims at challenging the representation of youth cultural production in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Africa as simply a ‘protest’ culture. It looks beyond the binary where music is understood either as co-opted or dissenting and explores the politics of artistic creativity and music aesthetics. Analysis is supported by two years of fieldwork that expands on the dominant perception of rap music and youth in Morocco, the MENA region and Africa. 3 Table of Content List%of%Figures%.................................................................................................................................%6! Acknowledgments%.........................................................................................................................%7! Introduction:%Moroccan%Rap%in%Context%..............................................................................%10! Marginalized+Moroccan+Urban+Youth+..................................................................................................+16! The+Politics+of+Hip+Hop+Culture+and+Rap+Music+................................................................................+20! Challenges+in+the+Study+of+Youth+Cultural+Production+in+the+MENA+Region+.......................+32! Methods+and+Methodology+........................................................................................................................+43! Thesis+structure+..............................................................................................................................................+55! Chapter%One:%National%Identity%and%Rap%Music%.................................................................%59! 1.! (De)Constructing+the+Nation+...........................................................................................................+62! 2.! Shaping+National+Popular+Music+...................................................................................................+75! 3.! The+Aesthetics+Politics+of+Taqlidi+Rap+..........................................................................................+87! 4.! Moroccanness+and+Global+Flows+....................................................................................................+95! Conclusion+......................................................................................................................................................+107! Chapter%Two:%Language,%Urban%Spaces%and%Cultural%Resistance%.............................%109! 1.! The+Politics+of+Language+in+the+Cultural+Field+.....................................................................+112! 2.! Urban+Youth+Language:+Street+Darija+Vs.+Refined+Rap+.....................................................+121! 3.! CoWopting+Resistance+........................................................................................................................+132! 4.! Strategies+of+Cultural+Control+......................................................................................................+143! 5.! Casablanca+and+Cultural+Struggle+.............................................................................................+156! Conclusion+......................................................................................................................................................+168! Chapter%Three:%Branding%Patriotic%Rap%............................................................................%170! 1.! Genesis+of+Patriotic+Rap+..................................................................................................................+172! 4 2.! Endorsing+the+Moroccan+‘Exception’+........................................................................................+186! 3.! Critical+Response+to+Patriotic+NarratiVes+in+Rap+.................................................................+200! 4.! SerVing+Power:+Fighting+the+Makhzen’s+Enemy+...................................................................+208! Conclusion+......................................................................................................................................................+224! Chapter%Four:%Framing%Voices%of%Dissent%.........................................................................%227! 1.! Rap+and+The+Nayda+NarratiVe+.....................................................................................................+230! 2.! ‘Resistance’+in+Context+.....................................................................................................................+237! 3.! Silencing+Voices+of+Dissent+.............................................................................................................+255! 4.! Engaging+with+the+UnpriVileged+Urban+...................................................................................+269! Conclusion+......................................................................................................................................................+280! Chapter%Five:%Artistic%Creativity,%Marginality%and%Cultural%Clichés%........................%282! 1.! Marketing+Moroccan+Rappers+.....................................................................................................+285! 2.! Locating+Cultural+Clichés+...............................................................................................................+295! 3.! ‘Blackness’+and+Urban+Youth+........................................................................................................+309! 4.! Global+Culture+and+The+Empowerment+of+Local+Marginalities+.....................................+327! Conclusion+......................................................................................................................................................+337! Conclusion%..................................................................................................................................%339! Bibliography%..............................................................................................................................%345! Songs+................................................................................................................................................................+380! Albums+.............................................................................................................................................................+383!