SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi group 'ThUgZ uNiT' raps about social and cultural issues despite objections

Record ID: 189269

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi group 'ThUgZ uNiT' raps about social and cultural issues despite objections
  • Date: 24th November 2013
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF SAUDI RAP GROUP "THUGZ UNIT", MAKKI, SAYING: "I sing about the reality I experienced. I wanted to convey a message to my mother because I'm ungrateful and I am not proud of being ungrateful. On the contrary, I'm remorseful to be ungrateful and I would like to send her a message and I hope that she gets it."
  • Embargoed: 9th December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Entertainment,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVASJLBHLJ294I0IWA8TAM1WRJX
  • Story Text: ThUgZ uNiT, a Saudi rap group that gained recognition for its song about the crisis in Syria, is introducing a new single dedicated to mothers around the world.
    Members of the group rapped, sang and recorded their latest song in a studio in Riyadh.
    "The title of the song today is 'Mother's teardrop'. The lyrics of the song revolves around how a person abandons his mother to please his wife and how the mother's treated after the father's death. And also there is someone from the team who had treated his mother in bad way, so we dedicated this song to her," said lead singer Hassan Asery, also known as "Crazy Rap".
    "I sing about the reality I experienced. I wanted to convey a message to my mother because I'm ungrateful and I am not proud of being ungrateful. On the contrary, I'm remorseful to be ungrateful and I would like to send her a message and I hope that she gets it," said Makki, one of the members of ThUgZ uNiT.
    Formed around 2010, ThUgZ uNiT wants to change the world and rap about social problems in Saudi society, disability, poverty and unemployment as well as regional and global issues. Citing the late American rap star Tupac as a major influence, the group garnered attention earlier this year with a song about Syria, which included the haunting recording of a young Syrian girl's voice delivering a blustering verbal attack against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
    Tariw al-Khaldi, a friend of the group, said that singing about issues that matter to the people would help shake off the bad image of rap music in the conservative country.
    "The idea of ??rap is undesirable in the kingdom, so how can we make it desirable? By making them carry purposeful ideas which interest the community as 'Crazy Rap' and Makki have done, ideas aimed at benefiting our society and its people," he said.
    The group's latest song intends to inspire listeners to show appreciation for their mothers, said one of its members.
    "I would like to send a message to all young people in the world that each person has a mother he must hurry up to please her and kiss her head and try to please her in all ways. Because the Paradise is under the feet of mothers," said Mohamed.
    ThUgZ uNiT members spend a lot of their time listening to American rap music, but they say the flavour of their songs is pure Saudi.
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