Moroccan Rapper (l7a9ed) Relaesed from Prison after a Year for Insulting Police

Here is an article from the Associated Press (AP) by way of the Washington Post on the release of the activist rapper Mouad Belghouat. A year in prison certainly makes one reevaluate the benefit of speaking out against corruption. 
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Morocco’s rebel rapper to focus on music, studies after release from prison

By Associated Press

CASABLANCA, Morocco — A Moroccan rapper known for his protest songs said Friday after completing a yearlong prison sentence that he will be concentrating on his studies and improving his music and is unsure about further activism.

Mouad Belghouat’s angry rap songs excoriating the gaps between rich and poor in Morocco provided the soundtrack to the North African kingdom’s Arab Spring protest movement in 2011 that called for social justice and greater democracy.

But while Belghouat, known as El-Haqed or “the enraged,” was in prison, the February 20 movement, as it was known, faded away as popular ire with the state was defused by a string of reforms promulgated by the king.

“I will concentrate more on my studies — I have my high school exams to pass in June,” said a pale, subdued 26-year-old Belghouat to journalists and activists, showing only occasional flashes of his trademark irreverent sense of humor. “I played around a lot before, and in prison I discovered the importance of reading more.”

FULL ARTICLE 

Some Rappers Promoting Conservatism,Talk Politics

Here is an article from alBawaba about rappers in Morocco using their art-form to take political sides and to promote social and religious policies.
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'Halal rap': Morocco's MC's preach politics and conservatism

Published November 11th, 2012 - 06:04 GMT via SyndiGate.info

By Mohammad al-Khudairi

 

Some of Morocco’s young rappers are using their music to show support for the country’s ruling party, espouse family values, and encourage female modesty. It’s called “Halal rap,” but can it even be considered rap at all?

Sheikh Sar (known as Chekh Sar in Morocco) is a rising star among religious youth here.
But Chekh Sar isn’t an upcoming Salafi preacher on one of the religious satellite channels proliferating throughout the Arab world. He is just a young rapper from the city of al-Rashidiya in east Morocco who used to be called Elias Lakhrifi.
His mix of religious advice and conservative values has turned Chekh Sar into a symbol of “halal” music for an Islamist audience. Chekh Sar is credited with inventing a new style of Moroccan rap called “Halal rap.” He uses it to defend the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) and call for building a conservative society.

Although Chekh Sar has denied links to the PJD in various statements, he rose to fame by performing at party rallies and later rode the wave of the party’s success when they took parliament in November 2011.
He recently released a song defending the achievements of the Islamist party and criticizing its partners in government for supposedly obstructing the PJD’s work.

In this song, he re-appropriates the phrase “Do you understand me or not?” which was originally spoken by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane when asked to explain the rise in prices of basic goods during a television interview, but later seized on by Moroccans to mock him. Chekh Sar turns it around to attack PJD’s detractors and defend Benkirane.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Moroccan Rapper "Al-Haqid" Charged for Anti-Police Song

Here is an Associated Press article about the charging of the Moroccan rapper known as "al7a9ed" (al-haqid) ostensibly for a song with anti-police lyrics.
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Moroccan rapper charged for anti-police song

By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court denied bail on Wednesday to a rapper charged with attacking the image of the security services in a song about police corruption.

Mouad Belghouat was arrested March 29 after Morocco's National Security agency filed a suit against him, and he is now being tried for insulting state employees and official institutions, a charge that could lead to a prison sentence.

The rapper, also known as El-Haqed, or "the enraged," writes songs about corruption and social injustice and is involved in the pro-democracy February 20 movement.

He also has written songs attacking King Mohammed VI for his vast wealth and high ranking on the Forbes magazine lists.

The police accused Belghouat of posting a song on the Internet accompanied by photos insulting to police, including one showing an officer with the head of a donkey.

The judge denied a defense request for bail after the prosecutor argued that the rapper presented a risk to the public order. The case was adjourned until April 16.

Belghouat's lawyer said the montage accompanying the song was posted by someone else and the whole case is just a political attack on a well known activist.

"In the song, Mouad accuses certain policemen of corruption. This isn't a scoop. Everyone says so and international organizations confirm it," Larbi Chentoufi told The Associated Press. "El-Haqed is in front of the judges for his opinions."

It is the second time the rapper, who comes from a sprawling slum in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, has tangled with authorities.

Belghouat was jailed for four months last year for getting into a fight with a regime supporter in the gritty, low-income suburb of Casablanca where he now lives. His supporters say the charges were trumped up.

He was released on Jan. 12 in a case that mobilized the country's activist community.

Morocco was swept with pro-democracy demonstrations like many other countries in the Middle East last year, but the king managed to defuse popular anger with a series of reforms.

Belghouat has continued his activist work in poor neighborhoods. The song he is charged for, called "Dogs of the State," is addressed to the police.

"You are paid to protect the citizens, not to steal their money," says one lyric. "Did your commander order you to take money from the poor?" says another.

The song asks the police to arrest the wealthy businessmen who have divided the country up for themselves.

Morocco, a popular tourist destination for Europeans, has one of the highest discrepancies between rich and poor in the Arab world, according to international development agencies.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.