Shaaban Abdel Rahim

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Shaaban Abdel Rahim


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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Alias =
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Origin = Cairo, Egypt
Genre = Egyptian Pop
Occupation = Singer
Years_active = 1980s–present
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Shaaban Abdel Rahim (Arabic: شعبان عبد الرحيم), also known as Sha'bola (شعبولا) is an Egyptian pop (Sha'bi) singer, best known for catchy songs with political lyrics and his outrageously tacky and flamboyant sense of fashion.

Introduction

Shaaban was born in Cairo and worked for many years in obscure poverty as a laundry worker before his songs became popular.

In 2000, Shaaban's breakthrough song "Ana Bakrah Israel" (I Hate Israel) accompanied by the catchy refrain "But I Love Amr Moussa", caused a great deal of controversy, and many were surprised that it passed Egyptian censors. Many of Shaaban's songs were sold informally on cheaply processed cassette tapes. His poor background, informal language, and frank lyrics have made him very popular with the Egyptian public.

Since then, Shaaban has continued to produce popular political songs, often quickly following current events. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he produced a song entitled "Hey People, It Was Only a Tower and I Swear by God that They Are the Ones Who Pulled it Down." In 2003, he had a popular song entitled "Don't Hit Iraq" [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2839795.stm BBC News: Arabs rock to anti-war song] , published March 11, 2003] , in 2005, a song about the Muhammed cartoon controversy entitled "We’re All Out of Patience" [ [http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/47082:Udland--Egyptisk-popsanger-til-kamp-mod-Danmark Kristeligt Dagblad: Egyptisk popsanger til kamp mod Danmark] , published February 23, 2006 da icon] , and in 2006 a song about the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

Islam Khalid, the songwriter responsible for "Hitting Iraq" and other politically contentious songs sung by the performer, said he had to teach Abdel-Rehim the meaning behind some of the ideas behind his songs.

McDonalds Controversy

In late 2001 Shaaban Abdel Rahim participated in the promotion of McDonald's new McFalafel sandwich by singing an ad to the tune of "Ana Bakrah Israel" (I Hate Israel). [Loftus, Johnny. " [http://www.answers.com/topic/shaaban-abdel-rehim Shaaban Abdel-Rehim] ", Allmusic]

Once you see McDonald’s, you’ll never ever forget it.
Something New!
Try it – You’ll love it!
McFalafel Taamiya – Real, authentic Egyptian! cite journal
author = Gordon, Joel
year = 2003
title = Singing the pulse of the Egyptian-Arab street: Shaaban Abd al-Rahim and the geo-pop-politics of fast food
journal = Popular Music
volume = 22
pages = 73
doi = 10.1017/S0261143003003052
publisher = Cambridge University Press]

Protest from Jewish advocacy groups followed, and the spots were pulled after only three weeks on the air. It is unclear whether McDonald's had given in to pressure from groups such as the American Jewish Committee, or if the ads had simply run their course. [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/shaaban-abdel-rehim Shaaban Abdel-Rehim: Information and Much More from Answers.com ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pciRGoBd30 Shaaban Abdel Rahim: All of our patience has run out (Youtube)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2P4SQdsIuI&NR=1 Shaaban Abdel Rahim: Just for two soldiers (Youtube)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49QlQjddYDE&NR=1 Shaaban Abdel Rahim: Saddam Hussein (Youtube)]
* [http://www.arabicmusictranslation.com/2007/05/shaaban-abdel-rahim-weve-lost-all.html Arabic Song Lyrics and Translation - Shaaban Abdel Rehim: We've Lost All Patience]