Sha'abi

Sha'abi is the name of a style of living, a style of dance, and a style of music. The word is Egyptian Arabic and refers to the poorer, commoner sections of the city. An English equivalent might be "ghetto." The name came to characterize the style of music enjoyed in such neighborhoods. The style is somewhat rougher and more playful than the rest of Egyptian pop music. Naturally, the style of dance acquired the name "sha'abi". The dance is more assertively sexual than is ordinary Egyptian dance.

Egyptian Sha'abi

After Egypt's demoralizing defeat by Israel in the 1967 war, new sounds developed in Cairo as young Egyptians sought ways to reaffirm themselves in a fast-paced, changing world. Internationally savvy, high-tech Al Jeel became the music of the educated, well-to-do youth. Meanwhile, in working-class neighborhoods, a brash new sound called sha'abi, which means "of the people" bloomed into view. Sha'abi has old, rural origins, but also refers to a modern urban musical style, often using western and electric instruments. Sha'abi musicians popularized short song forms and lyrics dealing with everyday social themes, paralleling the development of "working class" politics. These embers caught fire in Egypt in the '70s, ignited by the onset of affordable cassette technology.

Shamelessly rude and comic in his themes and lyrics, Ahmed Adaweyah sparked the sha'abi explosion with his first cassette in 1971. The music can evoke sadness and nostalgia, but more often fits tales of survival in the city and working class pride to breathless rhythms and rough-edged musical productions. Ahmed and his followers shocked some listeners and delighted others with unabashed straight talk and new takes on traditional social music. In sha'abi, old, folkloric chants slide into rap, while hand-clapping and dancing loud melodies ornament slamming, bass-driven dance mixes. Ahmed has had songs on topics from sexual attraction to the Gulf War banned from radio play. He remains popular, although less so since his move to a more programmed electronic sound that old fans find emasculated.

Sha'abi stars no longer develop their reputations in the clubs along Pyramid Road, but many work at private parties and in Cairo studios. Sha'abi singers must master the art of mawal, improvised commentary and storytelling used to drive home a song's message. Shabaan Abdul Raheem worked as an ironing man until he began recording sha'abi hits in his big, rough voice. Spiking his pro-Egypt, anti-foreign sentiments with rap profanity, Shabaan sells well, despite or perhaps aided by the fact that a number of his cassettes have been banned. Though he can sell 100,000 or more of each release, he continues to lead a simple life, tending to his chickens and goats in his old neighborhood. Singers Sami Ali and Sahar Hamdy take a still bolder rap approach and have earned the radio ban for a number of sexually explicit songs.

In the '90s, young sha'abi stars like Hakim, Khaled Agag, Hassan el Asmar, Magdy Talaat, and Magdy Shabin emphasize the bleeps, pops and whines of synthesizers and drum machines. Outsiders may find the results tacky-to the point of comedy, or perhaps seduction-but techno-sha'abi parallels developments in youth pop across North Africa as a large, restless generation of teenagers announces its presence and its openness to new ideas.

Moroccan Sha'abi

Moroccan cities have long supported sha'abi, "popular" groups playing in cafés and recording cassettes for the local market. Traditionally, sha'abi songs begin with slow, explorative introductions and move towards a fast ending section called leseb. Sha'abi founders from the '50s and '60s, Abdelwahab Doukali and Hamid Zahir, remain the most popular names. But during the '70s, a second wave of sha'abi groups slowed the pace and sharpened the sound, inspired as much by Indian music and the Beatles as by the prevalent Egyptian pop they competed with directly. Three groups, Nass El-Ghiwane, Jil Jilala and Lem Chaheb, spearheaded the '70s rise of sha'abi. Nass El-Ghiwane began as an avant-garde political theater group in Casablanca in 1971. This five-piece roots-fusion band sang hypnotic, message-laden trance songs. Lead singer Boujmia criticized the powerful and sang about the trials of the poor. Since his death in the early '80s, the remaining quartet has continued with a strong flavor of the Arab-African Gnawa music in their sound. Jil Jilala started out in 1972, also as a theater troupe. The group's music draws from the orchestral malhoun tradition, where lengthy musical compositions accompany classical poetry. Jil Jilala now uses Gnawa rhythms and the double-reed ghaita, as well as fretless bouzouki and two bendirs (frame drums) to bolster the beat. The third crucial sha'abi group, the five-piece Lem Chaheb, has ventured furthest into western idioms, pushing the boundaries of a music scene wary of foreign influences. Guitar and bouzouki ace Lamrani Moulay Cherif, the group's star attraction, plays over traditional percussion, electric bass, horns, voices, and now, inevitably, drum machines. In 1985, Lem Chaheb toured with the German fusion band Dissidenten and played on their record "Sahara Elektrik". Continuing the roots pop tradition in the '80s, a young group Muluk el Hwa plays all acoustic music incorporating Gnawa material. Their recent cassette Casbah sold over 200,000 copies in Spain.

Bibliography

1. Banning Eyre, http://www.afropop.org/explore/style_info/ID/6/Shaabi/

2. Hyphenated, Sun Aug 14 2005 at 3:45:35, http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1743210