Rap Beyond Resistance : Staging Power in Contemporary Morocco

Description

This book fills the gap in existing literature by exploring other forms of political discourses in non-Western rap music. Theoretically, it challenges and explores resistance, arguing towards the need for different epistemological frameworks in which to look at narratives of cultural resistance in the Arabic-speaking world. Empirically, it provides an in-depth look at the politics of rap culture in Morocco. Rap Beyond Resistance bridges the humanities and social sciences in order to de-Westernize cultural studies, presenting the political narratives of the Moroccan rap scene beyond secular liberal meanings of resistance. By exploring what is political, this book brings light to a vibrant and varied rap scene diverse in its political discourses – with an emphasis on patriotism and postcolonial national identity – and uncovers different ways in which young artists are being political beyond ‘radical lyrics’. Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction: The Straightjacket of Resistance (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 1-20 Deciphering Moroccan ‘Cool’ (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 21-50 Rap and the Revival of Patriotism (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 51-82 Branding Patriotism, Commodifying Resistance (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 83-112 Visual Representations of Power: Urban Spaces and Rooftops (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 113-143 Economies of Resistance (Cristina Moreno Almeida)....Pages 145-168 Back Matter ....Pages 169-181