Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt
Peoples & Things
00:00
Is This Really a Sharafia Nixon Song?
Singer Ahmed Adawaya was a pioneer of popular music in Egypt, which is this genre where we have people singing about everyday things in Egyptian colloquial Arabic. When they're performing this, they are laughing on the track, laughing at Nixon. Because these were recorded at private events, you hear the greater laughter because it's picking up conversations and all these jokes. And so many of those words have double meanings. It doesn't sound like a very happy take on these things, huh? No, and it's so it's dripping in sarcasm. Yes, and biting criticism.
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