- Title: MOROCCO: All-girl Moroccan rap bands break new ground
- Date: 17th March 2009
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) FOUZIA CHAMAOUI, "S GIRLS" BAND LEADER, SAYING: "Each member of our group used to belong to a mixed sex band. I was the only girl in a boy band and I had some problems. We did not understand each other and Soltana from the band Tigress Flow advised me to set up an all-female group. That is exactly what happened and you can see the result in this concert." (SOUNDBITE) (FRENCH) SARAH RAISS, JOURNALIST, SAYING: "The leaders of this trend are Tigress Flow, especially after they won two awards during Generation Mawazine and "Ouf du Bled". This opened many doors for them. There is also the solo rapper Hanane Tendresse who used to be part of a boys band. She was the only girl. I hope to see more and more girls in rap music. There are girls performing other music genres such as R&B and rock, but not enough doing rap music."
- Embargoed: 1st April 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Morocco
- Country: Morocco
- Reuters ID: LVA2P42TZW0XV7AX5V7HEP1Y6SAO
- Story Text: Girls are storming the Moroccan music scene, as the once male-dominated world of Hip Hop, R&B and rap music is making the way for a slew of female artists.
After winning two prestigious music awards in only one week in May 2008, female rappers Tigress Flow are now a well-established rap band setting an example to other girls to subvert the rules of conservative Moroccan society.
Tigress Flow, which is made-up of three girls in their early twenties, Youssra, Hind and Wahiba, as well as DJ Benns (real name Abdeljalil), won first prize in the Generation Mawazine in Rabat and the "Ouf du Bled" awards at the music festival in Casablanca.
The band leader, Youssra Oukaf, who is also known as Soltana, explained that their success was the fruit of hard work and a dogged determination to succeed.
"Our success is due to the confidence we have in ourselves as a group and in our work and also due to our hard work. What helped us more is all of the problems we faced when we started out, because no one wanted to even give us basic advice," Soltana said.
Their initial troubles taught them to rely on themselves and, since then, their success had created its own momentum.
"But when we became the first-ever band of its kind in Morocco and Africa, we had many offers from concert organisers," she said.
During their concert in Sale, near Rabat, Tigress Flow sang their hits songs "Maghribiya" and "Kifach" on Saturday (March 14).
Without using crude language, they express their ideas and aspirations in colloquial Moroccan Arabic. Like many rap and hip hop artists, they used their lyrics to condemn violence, inequality and sexual harassment, and also called for peace, optimism and love.
Soltana, a formerly unemployed air stewardess, uses her music to tackle youth issues such as unemployment and immigration. During a concert last year in Casablanca, one official tried to close down their show because he did not like the way the band interpreted Morocco's problems.
Some female rappers started their careers in boy-bands. However the complications involved in such a scenario, encouraged Fouzia Chamaoui, who sang in a male group, to set up her own female-only band, "S Girls".
She was supported and encouraged by Soltana, who had become something of a mentor.
"Each member of our group used to belong to a mixed sex band. I was the only girl in a boy band and I had some problems. We did not understand each other and Soltana from the band Tigress Flow advised me to set up an all-female group. That is exactly what happened and you can see the result in this concert," said Chamaoui.
Judging by the number of people who turned up to see Tigress Flow and the S Girls perform on Saturday, the groups could be trend-setters.
According to Sarah Raiss, a music journalist, Tigress Flow lead the female rap scene. However, there are relatively few female rappers even if women are well-represented in other genres such as R&B.
"The leaders of this trend are Tigress Flow, especially after they won two awards during Generation Mawazine and "Ouf du Bled". This opened many doors for them. There is also the solo rapper Hanane Tendresse who used to be part of a boys band. She was the only girl. I hope to see more and more girls in rap music. There are girls performing other music genres such as R&B and rock, but not enough doing rap music," Raiss said.
During the Sale concert, boy bands performed for nearly four hours nonstop, but the biggest ovation went to the Tigress Flow. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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