Abstract
This chapter provides a much-needed account of female voices in Moroccan hip hop. Since the genesis of this urban culture from the 1990s until 2020, female rappers or femcees have learned to navigate and negotiate politics, traditional social mores, and increasing internet penetration to create and build their own artistic careers. This chapter analyses lyrics, music videos, performance, language, femcees presence on and use of social media together with interviews to present a holistic portrayal of the Moroccan female rap scene. Against international media unnuanced reports on North African and Middle Eastern female rappers, this chapter draws attention to the ways in which these women have been involved in the country’s music scene discussing their life experiences and their music. Ultimately, the chapter provides a herstory of the Moroccan rap scene examining changing local and global expectations of what means to be a Moroccan female rapper.
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Notes
- 1.
I have discussed the main tenets of Moroccan rap history and politics in Rap Beyond Resistance: Staging Power in Contemporary Morocco (2017).
- 2.
The use of female and male in this chapter is intended to highlight issues concerning these categories but is not intended to negate non-binary and queer identities.
- 3.
Watch here Widad Queen T live with Thug Gang at la F.O.L. in Casablanca in 2002. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzTvDvE3pw4 (Accessed May 11, 2021).
- 4.
See Tendresse YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKJr1q-r5M1R373SVtokqpw (accessed May 11, 2021).
- 5.
All translations into English are by the author of this chapter.
- 6.
The word zwaml (the plural of zamil) is a derogative word that means effeminate.
- 7.
Harraga is a word used for those undocumented migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea.
- 8.
See video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd_70kdfZXw (accessed May 11, 2021).
- 9.
A diss song is a type of rap song intended to disrespect or defy a particular rapper or rappers in general.
- 10.
See video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNRkJ0DksjU (accessed May 11, 2021).
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Moreno Almeida, C. (2023). Moroccan Hip Hop Queens: A (Her)Story of Rap Music in Morocco. In: Skalli, L.H., Eltantawy, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Media and Communication in the Middle East and North Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11980-4_25
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