Mahragan, also Mahraganat (English: festivals, carnivals; Egyptian Arabic: مهرجاناتEgyptian Arabic pronunciation:[mɑh.ɾɑ.ɡɑˈnɑːt]) or Egyptian electro, Egyptian street music, shaabi-electro, is a popular genre of Egyptianfolk music. Mahraganat is a combination of working class popular Egyptian music (shaabi) played at weddings, EDM and hip-hop, with heavy autotune use. DJ Figo made the genre more well known with his team "set dyaba" released during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Although this may be the first ever track to go mainstream, Mahraganat was conceived early by several Egyptian underground artists as DJ Ahmed Figo, El Sadat, Feelo and Alaa Fifty in 2004. They shared their music via MP3 files and phones, and it could be heard playing everywhere in taxis, tuktuks and on the street, since Egyptian Shaabi music has always been considered as the true soul of Egypt, given how powerful it is.[1] Another Mahragan mix was released by the same group of friends in 2006 and it was called "Mahragan Elsalam", named after their neighbourhood 'Elsalam' in northeastern Cairo, it talked about friendship and how to be mature.
The origins of mahraganat (mahragan songs) lie in the popular (aka sha'bi or shaabi) neighborhoods and streets of Egypt. In 2006–7, wedding DJs began combining shaabi music and electronic dance music with influences from reggaeton, grime and rap.[2] In 2011, the Revolution began and the genre reflected the political turmoil as DJ Figo, released his first big single entitled "Ana Baba, Y’lla"[3] Initially, mahragan received no airplay on radio or television and spread online by means of such sites as YouTube and SoundCloud. Like mulid (a different sub-genre of sha'bi music) it is dance music, not meant for sitting and listening. Mahragan street performances inspire wild, sometimes acrobatic dancing, combining hip-hop moves with raqs baladi (Egyptian folk dancing).[4] In 2014, mahragan DJ Souissy signed a record deal and artists such as EEK (which is purely music without lyrics) brought the genre to the mainstream in Egypt. By summer 2014, mahraganat had become popular throughout all of Egypt. Outside of Egypt, the genre was popularised by alternative culture magazine Audio Kultur and the Cairo Liberation Front. Dance music blog Generation Bass also helped introduce mahraganat to European audiences. In 2014, a group of mahragan DJs toured the Netherlands.[5]
In 2015, Mahragan DJ Zola was shot and killed on the street during celebrations of the Egyptian Revolution's fifth anniversary.[5] The government announced that opposition protesters where responsible for the shooting, while DJ Sadat held the police responsible.[5]
The genre was considered vulgar by some older and more conservative Egyptians. This is because of the social status of the performers and fans, the controversial topics and style of lyrics, use of obscenities,[6] and personal style of the mahragan fans. In 2016, Nagham FM radio station banned maharagan songs from its programs, citing that they did not "match Egyptian customs and traditions".[7] However, television shows and music producers moved to cash in on the new trend, signing certain artists, such as Oka & Ortega, who have performed more widely since 2013[8] and recorded some commercials, and many hit songs.
On Valentine's Day 2020, a concert was held in Cairo Stadium featuring many stars, and Hassan Shakoush, a leading Mahraganat singer, was also invited to the concert alongside his Mahraganat co-singer, Omar Kamal, where they performed their superhit, Bent El-Geran (The Neighbor's Daughter). In light of this event, there was some momentum on social media criticizing what they called a lack of age appropriateness of parts of the lyrics such as using many Egyptian street slurs and slang words, which some other artists considered as deviation from Egyptian values. Moreover, criticisms were frequently referring to one other explicit line in their hit song stating "I drink alcohol and smoke Weed". However, the singers reacted by releasing a video where they claimed that what happened was an inadvertent mistake, and that they aren't advising youth to switch to alcoholism or get drunk. In the video, they apologized and explained that the wrong version was played even though another version had already been recorded where the explicit line was altered.[9] Shortly after, the Egyptian union of musicians decided to ban Mahraganat music in Egypt and to deny Mahraganat singers their memberships, including actor and Mahraganat performer Mohamed Ramadan.[10]
In popular cultureEdit
In 2013, Hend Meddeb released a documentary about the Egyptian genre titled Electro Chaabi.
In April 2022, the second episode of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Moon Knight features a song from the genre, which is El Melouk - The Kings by 3enba, Double Zuksh and Ahmed Saad.
ReferencesEdit
^Sherifa Zuhur "Mulid and Mahragan: Invoking Spirituality and Popular Authenticity in Egyptian Music and Dance" Paper presented to the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, 9/15/18."
^Peavey, April (24 June 2014). "In Egypt, 'electro-chaabi' music stirs up controversy". The World. PRI.
^ElNabawi, Maha. . British Council. Archived from the original on 2014-06-21. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
^Sherifa Zuhur, "Mulid: Regenerating Spiritual and Popular Legitimacy in Egyptian Music and Dance and the Sister Genres of Sha’bi and Mahragan." Presented to the Fifth World Congress on Middle East Studies, Seville, Spain, July 19, 2018
^ abc"DJ Ahmed "Zo'la" Mohsen shot in the head on Egyptian revolution's anniversary". Al Bawaba. January 28, 2015.
^"Egypt's Music of Protest". MERIP. 2 January 2013.
^. Freemuse. May 17, 2016. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
^Hubbard, Ben (11 May 2013). "Out of Egypt's Chaos, Musical Rebellion". The New York Times.
^اعتذار رسمي من حسن شاكوش و عمر كمال لي... - حسن شاكوش - Hassan Shakosh, retrieved 2020-02-17
mahraganat, mahragan, also, english, festivals, carnivals, egyptian, arabic, مهرجانات, egyptian, arabic, pronunciation, mɑh, ɾɑ, ɡɑˈnɑːt, egyptian, electro, egyptian, street, music, shaabi, electro, popular, genre, egyptian, folk, music, combination, working, . Mahragan also Mahraganat English festivals carnivals Egyptian Arabic مهرجانات Egyptian Arabic pronunciation mɑh ɾɑ ɡɑˈnɑːt or Egyptian electro Egyptian street music shaabi electro is a popular genre of Egyptian folk music Mahraganat is a combination of working class popular Egyptian music shaabi played at weddings EDM and hip hop with heavy autotune use DJ Figo made the genre more well known with his team set dyaba released during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution Although this may be the first ever track to go mainstream Mahraganat was conceived early by several Egyptian underground artists as DJ Ahmed Figo El Sadat Feelo and Alaa Fifty in 2004 They shared their music via MP3 files and phones and it could be heard playing everywhere in taxis tuktuks and on the street since Egyptian Shaabi music has always been considered as the true soul of Egypt given how powerful it is 1 Another Mahragan mix was released by the same group of friends in 2006 and it was called Mahragan Elsalam named after their neighbourhood Elsalam in northeastern Cairo it talked about friendship and how to be mature MahraganatNative nameمهرجانات مهرجان الكترو شعبيOther namesEgyptian Electro shaabi electro sha3bi electro mahraganStylistic originsTraditional Egyptian musicEgyptian folk musicgrimetrance musicreggaetonhip hoprock n rollCultural originsEarly 2000s EgyptTypical instrumentsMaqsoum Rhythm Synthesizermusic sequencersamplerDigital audio workstationDarbukaSagatDrum kitHistory EditThe origins of mahraganat mahragan songs lie in the popular aka sha bi or shaabi neighborhoods and streets of Egypt In 2006 7 wedding DJs began combining shaabi music and electronic dance music with influences from reggaeton grime and rap 2 In 2011 the Revolution began and the genre reflected the political turmoil as DJ Figo released his first big single entitled Ana Baba Y lla 3 Initially mahragan received no airplay on radio or television and spread online by means of such sites as YouTube and SoundCloud Like mulid a different sub genre of sha bi music it is dance music not meant for sitting and listening Mahragan street performances inspire wild sometimes acrobatic dancing combining hip hop moves with raqs baladi Egyptian folk dancing 4 In 2014 mahragan DJ Souissy signed a record deal and artists such as EEK which is purely music without lyrics brought the genre to the mainstream in Egypt By summer 2014 mahraganat had become popular throughout all of Egypt Outside of Egypt the genre was popularised by alternative culture magazine Audio Kultur and the Cairo Liberation Front Dance music blog Generation Bass also helped introduce mahraganat to European audiences In 2014 a group of mahragan DJs toured the Netherlands 5 In 2015 Mahragan DJ Zola was shot and killed on the street during celebrations of the Egyptian Revolution s fifth anniversary 5 The government announced that opposition protesters where responsible for the shooting while DJ Sadat held the police responsible 5 The genre was considered vulgar by some older and more conservative Egyptians This is because of the social status of the performers and fans the controversial topics and style of lyrics use of obscenities 6 and personal style of the mahragan fans In 2016 Nagham FM radio station banned maharagan songs from its programs citing that they did not match Egyptian customs and traditions 7 However television shows and music producers moved to cash in on the new trend signing certain artists such as Oka amp Ortega who have performed more widely since 2013 8 and recorded some commercials and many hit songs On Valentine s Day 2020 a concert was held in Cairo Stadium featuring many stars and Hassan Shakoush a leading Mahraganat singer was also invited to the concert alongside his Mahraganat co singer Omar Kamal where they performed their superhit Bent El Geran The Neighbor s Daughter In light of this event there was some momentum on social media criticizing what they called a lack of age appropriateness of parts of the lyrics such as using many Egyptian street slurs and slang words which some other artists considered as deviation from Egyptian values Moreover criticisms were frequently referring to one other explicit line in their hit song stating I drink alcohol and smoke Weed However the singers reacted by releasing a video where they claimed that what happened was an inadvertent mistake and that they aren t advising youth to switch to alcoholism or get drunk In the video they apologized and explained that the wrong version was played even though another version had already been recorded where the explicit line was altered 9 Shortly after the Egyptian union of musicians decided to ban Mahraganat music in Egypt and to deny Mahraganat singers their memberships including actor and Mahraganat performer Mohamed Ramadan 10 In popular culture EditIn 2013 Hend Meddeb released a documentary about the Egyptian genre titled Electro Chaabi In April 2022 the second episode of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Moon Knight features a song from the genre which is El Melouk The Kings by 3enba Double Zuksh and Ahmed Saad References Edit Sherifa Zuhur Mulid and Mahragan Invoking Spirituality and Popular Authenticity in Egyptian Music and Dance Paper presented to the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa 9 15 18 Peavey April 24 June 2014 In Egypt electro chaabi music stirs up controversy The World PRI ElNabawi Maha Meet and Sadat sang Ash sha b wa l hukuma The People and the Government Some of the Major Players British Council Archived from the original on 2014 06 21 Retrieved 2016 03 26 Sherifa Zuhur Mulid Regenerating Spiritual and Popular Legitimacy in Egyptian Music and Dance and the Sister Genres of Sha bi and Mahragan Presented to the Fifth World Congress on Middle East Studies Seville Spain July 19 2018 a b c DJ Ahmed Zo la Mohsen shot in the head on Egyptian revolution s anniversary Al Bawaba January 28 2015 Egypt s Music of Protest MERIP 2 January 2013 Egypt Radio station bans mahraganat song Freemuse May 17 2016 Archived from the original on May 26 2016 Retrieved May 30 2016 Hubbard Ben 11 May 2013 Out of Egypt s Chaos Musical Rebellion The New York Times اعتذار رسمي من حسن شاكوش و عمر كمال لي حسن شاكوش Hassan Shakosh retrieved 2020 02 17 Egypt s Musical Syndicate Bans Popular Mahraganat Music Egyptian Streets 2020 02 17 Retrieved 2020 02 17 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mahraganat amp oldid 1170388406, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
