Australia retail sales inch up 0.1% in April    UK retail sales rebound in May – CBI survey    ECB should favour QE in Crisis – Schnabel    SCZONE aims to attract more Korean companies in targeted industrial sectors: Chairperson    Kremlin accuses NATO of direct involvement in Ukraine conflict as fighting intensifies    30.2% increase in foreign workers licensed in Egypt's private, investment sectors in 2023: CAPMAS    Beltone Holding reports 812% YoY increase in operating revenue, reaching EGP 1.33bn    Al-Sisi receives delegation from US Congress    Cairo investigates murder of Egyptian security personnel on Rafah border: Military spox    Madinaty's inaugural Skydiving event boosts sports tourism appeal    Russia to build Uzbek nuclear plant, the first in Central Asia    East Asian leaders pledge trade co-operation    Arab leaders to attend China-Arab States Co-operation Forum in Beijin    Abdel Ghaffar highlights health crisis in Gaza during Arab meeting in Geneva    Tunisia's President Saied reshuffles cabinet amidst political tension    Hassan Allam Construction Saudi signs contract for Primary Coral Nursery in NEOM    Sushi Night event observes Japanese culinary tradition    US Embassy in Cairo brings world-famous Harlem Globetrotters to Egypt    Instagram Celebrates African Women in 'Made by Africa, Loved by the World' 2024 Campaign    US Biogen agrees to acquire HI-Bio for $1.8b    Egypt to build 58 hospitals by '25    Giza Pyramids host Egypt's leg of global 'One Run' half-marathon    Madinaty to host "Fly Over Madinaty" skydiving event    Coppola's 'Megalopolis': A 40-Year Dream Unveiled at Cannes    World Bank assesses Cairo's major waste management project    Egyptian consortium nears completion of Tanzania's Julius Nyerere hydropower project    Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference    Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23    Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Op-ed review: Bika,Shatta; Shaabi music singers top writers' attention
Amid debates on cultural taste, critics oppose ban on artists
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 11 - 2018

Away from the heated situation in Gaza, local politics, economics and far away from culture for some, an unusual topic dominated writers' op-eds in Wednesday's local newspapers: a dispute between low-profile singers of street music, also known as ‘shaabi' or ‘mahraganat,' was the talk of social media. A shaabi concert scheduled to take place in Alexandria was also banned.
In state-owned Al-Akhbar, Atef Al-Nemr opinionated that there has always been an issue of taste with the rise of popular singers, and that the more the government sought to ban them the more famous they got. He argued that it would be illogical for the syndicate to impose bans during the ‘times of internet' and that instead young talents should be encouraged and supported.
Likewise, Sayed Mahmoud in the privately-owned Al-Shorouk newspaper, argued that the state and its institutions cannot control public taste, and that upper class culture is no longer dominant, and that ‘shaabi' attracts the public as it represents social and cultural marginalisation.
From an elitist point of view, which he claimed to try to overcome, editor-in-chief of Al-Shorouk newspaper Emad El-Din Hussein, admitted he had not heard of the two singers involved, Hamo Bika and Magdy Shatta, and was unable to understand how they were able to draw the attention of millions of people. However, Hussein maintained his categorisation of those singers, their followers and the art they present as the ‘bottom of the society', wondering what would be the ‘best way to raise people's taste.'
Opposing the above view, film critic Tarek El-Shenawy traced the background of some of the best artists Egypt witnessed in its history, including most prominent named in music, poetry, and acting such as Farid Al-Atrash, Ali Salem, Sanaa Gameel, and others, revisiting their jobs before they became artists, most of whom worked in handicrafts and handyman jobs. His op-ed in the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm came as some media started sharing Bika's background in butchery, as El-Shenawy criticised the arrogance in dealing with those street singers, reprehending the heads of the music and acting syndicates in banning them, and a famous musician who went as far as calling for their arrest.
Lastly, editor-in-chief of the privately-owned Masrawy website Magdy Al-Galad made a different use of the events in his piece. To him, the two singers, Hamo Bika and Magdy Shatta are ignorant people who engaged in vulgar debates seeking fame. However, Al-Galad argued that the two acted according to their culture and background which could be excused, unlike Kuwaiti MP Safaa Al-Hashem. Drawing a comparison between the two cases in terms of disrespectful language, Al-Galad slammed Al-Hashim over her criticism of an Egyptian minister.


Clic here to read the story from its source.