Aljazeera channel - El General Tunisien Rap

Tunisie sidi-bouzid Tunis Thala Kasserine Djerba Algerie Maroc Egypt Saudi Arabia somalia Sudan Iraq Iran Syrie Algeria Tunisia Jordan KSA UAE Kuwait Lebanon Libye Aljazeera channel El General hamada ben amor rais lebled Rayes Lebled Rap Tunisien Morocco Oman Palestine العراق مصر تونس السعودية سوريا الجزيرة قطر الإمارات الجنرال رايس لبلاد حمادة راب تونسي الرياض بغداد الرباط دمشق القدس القاهرة الجزائر

Al Jazeera Anchor: [Speaking in formal, literary Arabic] ...Tunisians and because of the quality of the singing that he presented that talked about the deposed president personally.

So he was arrested during the society-wide protests a few weeks ago.

El Général: Mr. President!

Here, today, I speak in my name and the name of the people and everyone who lives in misery.

2011: this man is still dying of hunger.

He wants to work to survive, but his voice is not heard!

Go out into the street and see how the people have become animals.

Look at the police with batons. Thwack-thwack-thwack! They don't care!

There is still no one to tell them the word "stop."

Even the law that's in the constitution, put it in water and drink it.

Every day I hear of a man's case decided by the sword,

even if the official knows that he is an honest citizen. I see

the police beat women for wearing headscarves.

Would you accept that for your daughter? I know my words make the eye weep - I know!

But you're still a father. You would not accept evil being done to your children. Alors!

This is a message from one of your children

who is speaking with you of suffering. We are living like dogs!

Half of the people live in humiliation and have tasted from the cup of suffering.

Mr. President, your people are dying. So many people are eating from the garbage. There, you see...

AJ: And joining us today in [Al Jazeera's Tunis] studio is the rap singer Hamada ben Amor.

I mean, as he is known, "El Général," as I wish to greet him from the beginning.

G: May peace be upon you.

AJ: Hamada, this genre of music, how can it influence people and reach them?

G: [Speaking in very colloquial Tunisian Arabic] In all honesty, right now, because of rap, the people in Tunisia came together. You understand?

It speaks in the name of the people and it in the name of the "why?," the Tunisian people,

and the problems that are happening in the country. You know what I mean?

And this, I mean, I'm still a Tunisian rapper, you know? I spoke in the name of the entire [Tunisian] people in the song.

And it reached the president of the country and, in this way, I was arrested.

AJ: Was it your first directly political song?

G: No, no, no. I sing about politics but this, for the public, is the most famous song.

AJ: The most famous song. When they arrested you, what did they do to you?

G: In all honesty, they took me to the Interior Ministry. I was questioned for three days. You know? Interrogated.

They liked to say, "Who's the leader? Who's writing this?" Know what I mean?

AJ: You mean, "Who was it who wrote these words?"

G: I mean, [state security] knew that I worked alone.

AJ: Were violent methods used on you in the investigation?

G: No, no, God be praised! AJ: No, they didn't use any... G: No, no.

AJ: Now, you have become famous. What can rap music contribute now to the transformation of the new Tunisia?

G: By God, I see so much that is lacking in Tunisia right now, in a new Tunisia.

I see so much that is lacking in the new transitional government and I will try to give [Tunisia] something more with rap,

not in the voice of government officials but in the voice of the Tunisian people.

AJ: Being named "El Général" - where did that come from? In Tunisia there was a general, but that general was Ben Ali!

G: That's true. It was because the leading rappers weren't singing about politics, you know? I chose it because I would sing about politics.

I chose this name because it's strong, because it's a symbol...a political symbol.

AJ: The political significance of rap...did it have a specific political color? G: Huh?

AJ: I mean a...a specific partisan color that meant liberal or whatever?

G: Color? No, no, no. I mean, I'm a person with no party. I work in rap and only in rap. You know?

I'm not a politician but I sing about politics. You get what I mean?

AJ: In the era of the 1970s and 1980s there were political songs in Tunisia, in the universities.

There were Cheikh Imam, Marcel Khalifa, and other Tunisians as well.

Now, have politics in Tunisia become necessarily entangled with rap?

G: No, it's not entangled with rap. But, because rap is, right now, the closest way to...

All of the people are listening to it now. Rap has become the most well-known form of art - not just in Tunisia but in the whole world. But it's near the roots.

AJ: Are you currently engaged in the production of a new song?

G: God willing. Two days ago, a new song came out. Its name is ta7ya tunis ("Long live Tunisia").

AJ: ta7ya tunis...

G: It's about the reality of the current time. God willing, we'll get our freedom.

AJ: Thank you very much, Hamada bin Amor, the famous Tunisian rap singer El Général. You are most welcome here.