Iraqi rapper gives angry youth in city of Basra music outlet
A youth-led protest movement in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, which saw riots last summer over failing services and soaring unemployment, has found an artistic outlet in the words and beats of homegrown rapper Ahmed Chayeb. The 22-year-old rapper, also known as Mr. Guti, says his generation is fed up with the false […]Nabil al-Jurani and Qassim Abdul-Zahra write for AP:
A youth-led protest movement in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, which saw riots last summer over failing services and soaring unemployment, has found an artistic outlet in the words and beats of homegrown rapper Ahmed Chayeb.
The 22-year-old rapper, also known as Mr. Guti, says his generation is fed up with the false piety of politicians and religious authorities who preach about faith and duty but have let Basra fall apart.
“We need to be critical of everything that’s not right,” Chayeb told The Associated Press in a recent interview in his home studio, where he recorded ”This is Basra ,” lashing out at the powerful Shiite religious establishment.
