tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15240575.post4310480511716631301..comments2024-02-05T17:15:59.703-06:00Comments on hawgblawg: Mahragan: Excellent photos from Mosa'ab ElshamyTed Swedenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355038670178440138noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15240575.post-43351639013396857022014-03-25T18:48:20.689-05:002014-03-25T18:48:20.689-05:00Hello, again Ted
Well, Hamboullah actually took h...Hello, again Ted<br /><br />Well, Hamboullah actually took his fame riding on how Saha'aboullah used to 'hype up' his crowd with weird shouts. His is a trademark "Aaaaaa!" that he begins by asking everybody "who loves the Prophet Mohammed" to raise their hands, and then say that shout.<br /><br />Now, in Egypt, and not surprisingly so, nobody cares to give a listen to Sha'aban Abdelreheem anymore. The new 'it' music is <i>el-mahraganat</i>, and it's simply something that starts in an al-fresco wedding marquee, and ends up inside a lo-tech recording studio.<br /><br />I see that you are amazed that people in Egypt (especially, rappers), use the N-word, but they do that in a non-racist way. You won't find any racism in most Arab countries, anyway. That subgenre is mainly, hip-hop artists parroting American rappers and hip-hoppers (i.e. one Egyptian famous mahraganat performer and mic-man is called Ala'a (3laa) Fifty Cent a.k.a. simply 'Fifty').<br /><br />The 'mix-up' (or, <i>el-a'akk</i> as it's called in Egyptian slang), is stressed on the breakboy and hip-hop jitterbug-like dance combined with drug-induced sound and light 'festival' that mixes everything together like a <i>leila</i> in Egypt does, so much that these 'festivals' get literally ignited with fireballs, and dances are promoted all over the floor to be shared by everyone; from kids as young as 3-4, to old men and women.<br /><br />Lastly, there was a film that has premiered earlier this year called 'El-Mahraghan' ('The Festival'), starring Saddat and Fifty as two kids who struggle in a world of underground crime, religious zealotry, media mockery and the ever-present premarital sex scandal. Here's the promo to that film: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyFYTQ9ny8M" rel="nofollow">المهـــرجــان</a>.<br /><br />H.H.Hammerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09462766826817071023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15240575.post-43671919847147055242014-03-25T15:15:24.624-05:002014-03-25T15:15:24.624-05:00I wrote Shamboullah but I meant Shabola, that is, ...I wrote Shamboullah but I meant Shabola, that is, Shaaban Abd el-Rahim.Ted Swedenburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355038670178440138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15240575.post-85415560272926188792014-03-25T12:46:34.121-05:002014-03-25T12:46:34.121-05:00Thanks, as ever, Hammer. When I've listened to...Thanks, as ever, Hammer. When I've listened to interview with the stars, they talk about 'mahragan,' and the lyrics speak of 'mahragan,' too. But you've convinced me that I should start to use the term mahraganat and not be so stubborn.<br /><br />'moseeqah nigger'!<br /><br />Thanks for the Hamboullah tip! Sounds like a riff on Shamboullah.Ted Swedenburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355038670178440138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15240575.post-29382374167349128932014-03-24T01:11:03.939-05:002014-03-24T01:11:03.939-05:00This music was created by mere chance around 2009 ...This music was created by mere chance around 2009 in a public celebration; which is what the word <i>mahragan</i> strictly means (singular), and cannot be used unless denoting a single 'festival', or this is how this style became known as in and around Cairo's poverty-striken districts. <br /><br />As for <i>mahraghanat</i>, I think it is used more often to show more than one concert held by more than one DJ and mic-man (<i>mayk man</i> as the M.C. is called in Egypt). Again, this is also a plural-only word and most people use it to call this genre with 'Mosseqa Mahraghant', in addition to sometimes having sub-genres like <i>moseeqah nigger</i>, and <i>crazy dance</i>, among many more.<br /><br />Note: I should bring to your attention a sensation that has started joining the DJs as a hype-man in 2011: He's a small-bodied, pot-bellied, half-bald man who goes by the nickname of 'Hamboullah'. You can check him <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EJIkhgp_3Q" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Crazy, indeed.<br /><br />H.H.Hammerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09462766826817071023noreply@blogger.com