On April 24, we learned of the death sentence for “corruption on Earth” of rapper Toomaj Salehi, who had become one of the symbols of opposition to Iranian power. The artist, who made himself known by denouncing the social crisis and the repression of freedoms in his titles, was arrested in October 2022 (his second arrest) after expressing his support for the uprisings which followed the death of Mahsa Amini . But while #SaveToomaj floods social networks, particularly in France, some support is missing…
Why is the world of rap, a protest art by nature (at least, in the collective imagination) so silent? Why wasn’t there a word on this subject during the Flames ceremony, which rewards artists of so-called “popular” music (rap, RnB, afrobeat, etc.) and which is took place 24 hours after the announcement of the Iranian rapper’s conviction? In an interview with L’Express, Kévin Boucaud-Victoire, editor-in-chief of the Debates and Ideas section of Marianne and author of Thinking about rap – From pariah to dominant: analysis of a cultural phenomenon (Dawn), describes an art that is less political than it seems.
L’Express: How do you explain this silence from the majority of French rappers, after the conviction of rapper Toomaj Salehi?
Kevin Boucaud-Victoire : I think we should not underestimate the possibility that most are unaware of the situation in Iran. The rap world has little interest in world events in general. There were some reactions at the time of the war in Iraq – the Franco-Haitian rapper Kery James denounced in a title the disinformation surrounding the conflict (“they demonstrated to the whole world that we can oppose force to force truth”). But recently, with the exception of the war in Gaza, rappers rarely get involved. The war in Ukraine, for example, provoked almost no reaction.
Then, in general, the world of rap has become much depoliticized in recent years. In a post comparing the neighborhoods of 1983 to those of 2013, Akhenaton already underlined that “in those years, the young people of the neighborhoods were politically “aware”, they were capable of organizing beyond Third World riots, and they thought by conjugating all verbs with “we”. And for me, this is the terrible change that our societies, mainly urban, must face: ultra-individualism. […] Indeed, the majority of neighborhood kids no longer have any social or political awareness. They want to be like “everyman”, but a rich version. […] So, they want the woman with the perfect plastic, the apartment, the big car, the expensive clothes, and if possible: the Rolex.” Basically, the silence surrounding the conviction of Toomaj Salehi is consistent with the evolution rap in recent years.
According to a tenacious belief, rap is still a protest art by nature…
We must mourn this idea. Some rappers still follow the line of “conscious rap”. But this niche, which intended to carry the voice of the oppressed and denounce economic and political injustices, is no longer as dominant as it was in the days of NAP or the Scred Connexion… In its title “The day I I stopped rap” (2018), Youssoupha also said “And, very quickly, I felt the pain, I’m not completely uneducated/Everything went to shit when “conscious rap” became an insult”.
The world of rap has become ultra-individualist, which leaves little room for this “protest” aspect. In my book, I show that this evolution is felt in the vocabulary of artists. In the 1990s, 12% of songs mentioned “cops”, compared to 2% in 2020. Similarly, in the past, the word “ghetto” was found in 9% of songs, compared to 2% now. Conversely, rappers are talking more and more about cars, money and “bitches”.
In fact, rap has become widely known in recent years. Which could have contributed to this depoliticization and this withdrawal into oneself. The recent creation of the Flames ceremony, which takes place at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in partnership with Spotify, and imposes gala attire on participants, is symptomatic in this respect. Rap has become the new dominant music, listened to by everyone, regardless of social or geographic class. Obviously, this dilutes its identity and pushes its “deghettoization”. Rappers are no longer here to take a stand.
During the Flames ceremony, Medina nevertheless paid tribute to the Palestinians by performing his song “Gaza Soccer Beach”.
It’s not surprising. Anti-racism is the latest subject on which rappers are engaged. However, for many, support for Palestinian victims of Israeli “settlers” is part of this theme. It’s a fight against the dynamics of oppression, discrimination… This is also why the rare rappers who engage in politics talk about police violence (the “racist” motivations of which are often questioned) – as we saw from Jul, SCH and Niska during the riots following the death of Nahel following a police shooting last summer.
The revolt in Iran is, however, entirely part of a fight against the dynamics of oppression, police repression… Doesn’t that count?
The revolt in Iran does not have the same scope nor the same symbolism as the Palestinian cause. First, the outpouring of sympathy towards the Palestinians has been immense since October, and has numerous relays. The number of deaths climbs day by day. For many, it is therefore “natural” to support the cause. Then, supporting the Palestinians means placing yourself at the crossroads of several struggles. It is at the same time avenging the Algerians colonized by France, the African victims of apartheid, the victims of “Islamophobia”…
If we put aside the factor of probable ignorance of what is happening in Iran, other factors may come into play. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 had aroused certain sympathies in the suburbs. In the minds of many, Iran is the regime that stands up to Israel. However, we should not conclude that there is unconditional support for Iran from the suburbs and rap; the Shiism of the mullahs’ regime can also chill many French people of Muslim faith, the overwhelming majority of whom are Sunnis. But in any case, the fact that the revolt of Iranian women (and Iranians) is linked to Islam should not help.
The fact remains that this revolt strongly concerns women. Isn’t the silence of female rappers still surprising?
No. Rap is still very masculine. A few women have left their mark on the history of rap, like Diam’s or Casey. But today, we mainly know the Belgian rapper Shay, who is not very politically engaged. While it is not certain that rap is more sexist or misogynistic than other environments, it still hypersexualizes women a lot – either in the clips or in the lyrics. Which leads most female rappers to adopt these codes themselves. Even if there are exceptions, these are divided into two categories: those who invest the niche of the “biatch” (Shay) and those who pose as virile women or tomboys, like Casey. This leaves little room for “conscious” feminine rap.
In your work, you cite the author of The glory of rap (Gallimard), Bénédicte Delorme-Montini : “This generation of rap, moreover, has not known the public space without the veil […]nor has known the public space without the National Front […]. The emancipation of individuals now goes hand in hand with the defense of one’s identities.” One might think that this withdrawal into identity is typical of French rap, but in the United States too, we hardly see any more support for the Iranian revolt. And even fewer reactions to the conviction of Toomaj Salehi Why?
American rap is even more depoliticized than in France! It addresses the theme of police violence, but in a relatively unpolitical way. It must be said that in the United States, rap was born in a context of great depoliticization of society, in 1973. Malcolm many African-Americans, is shaken by the FBI attacks. In short: it is the end of racial segregation but blacks remain disillusioned about their emancipation. In the United States, depoliticization is therefore consubstantial with rap. Whereas in France, there is still a political breeding ground, a sort of tradition of commitment carried by George Brassens, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferret or Renaud, and which rap has inherited even if it moves away from it more and more.
“It’s difficult to grasp what message this music currently delivers, as it no longer seems to say anything substantial,” you write. Do you think we’re simply asking too much of rappers, expecting them to “take a stand”?
Absolutely. Overall, we expected too much from rap. After the great general strike of May 68 and the workers’ return to work, certain disappointed left-wing theoreticians, like Herbet Marcuse, said of them that they had sold themselves for a plate of lentils. Many supporters of the revolt therefore began to look for a new proletariat among young people or immigrants. But rap was the music of suburban children, often descendants of immigrants, poor… The ideal revolutionaries! The media therefore turned to rap to try to understand the problem of the suburbs and even solve it. After the riots in Vaulx-en-Velin, which were sparked by the death of a young man hit by a police car, NTM produced its first hit “Le Monde de Tomorrow”. In the press, everyone wanted the group’s opinion – while they themselves refused to express themselves. If the rappers carried a political message in their texts, they did not necessarily have something “political” to say. And then, as I said, rap has gradually evolved to mirror society, more individualistic, more materialistic. Secularism and universalism are themes that are little explored at best, and at worst, too divisive… However, we continue to expect rappers to have the answer to everything.
The few rappers who reacted to the conviction of Toomaj Salehi are over forty years old… Should we understand that to be interested in what is happening in Iran, you would necessarily have to be part of a certain generation?
Rap is a reflection of the generation that listens to it the most. According to sociologists Karim Hammou and Stéphanie Molinero, 17% of 15-24 year olds listened to rap in 1997 compared to 44% in 2008. For 25-34 year olds, this represented 55% in 1997, compared to 71% in 2018. However, today Today, part of young people perceive secularism as a form of oppression. Universalism is seen as old-fashioned… It is therefore probably no coincidence that the only rappers who have given their support to Toomaj Salehi are JoeyStarr and Stomy Bugsy, two rappers over 50 who have made the bulk of their career in the 1990s. What would be really surprising is if younger artists took a stand.
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