So, I had quite a
lovely time in the Pacific Northwest, and as a geologist, I was drooling over
all the glacial geologic features and volcanics. While S drove us up and down Mount
Rainier, I would often say something like, “Oh, look! A moraine! That’s totally
a moraine!” And S would usually respond with something like, “Oh, okay.” Made
me realize how many random, unsolicited facts a geologist’s spouse gets exposed
to. Photos to follow soon, I promise!
Anyway, during the drive,
I figured I would write a quick post about two music tycoons that I love: Egyptian
composer Baligh Hamdi and king of the American rap industry, Mr. Shawn Carter,
also known as Jay-Z. These two have an
unexpected connection. Can you guess what it is?
I love Jay-Z with pretty
devoted loyalty. Growing up in New Jersey, I remember hearing him in about
every other song on the radio. He, along with his charming wife Beyonce,
defined my childhood. I remember being violently ill and home from school the
day his song Big Pimpin came out. It
was so catchy, and I think the only thing that made me feel better:
As for Baligh Hamdi, it took me several years into my obsession with Arabic music to understand that he literally composed about half of the Arabic songs from the sixties that I love. Take this hit, Khosara Khosara, which means “loss, loss” in Arabic:
If you listen to both
songs, you might notice that they sound really [exactly] alike. So can you
guess the connection between the two music legends? If you guessed that they
were in a copyright lawsuit, you’re completely right! More specifically,
Hamdi’s nephew sued Jay-Z and Big
Pimpin’s producer Timbaland, saying that they
sampled from Khosara Khosara without
the proper adherence to Egyptian morality laws. I remember hearing about this
lawsuit last year and being surprised by the unlikely connection. During our
drive, when both songs somehow magically played back-to-back, I thought to
check the status of the lawsuit, and learned that a judge threw out the case.
It seems like the judgement made sense, especially since Timbaland went through
all the standard legal processes and paid the Egyptian record label to get a
license for sampling Hamdi’s original Khosara
Khosara.
Anyway, during the
drive, we also listened to this really interesting episode from the Switched On Pop podcast called “Around the World with Drake.” The podcast brought up a lot of thought-provoking points
on how cultural appropriation happens through music. It reminded me of how
appropriation can negatively impact a culture by fading its heritage. I thought
of how Hamdi, who’s this musical legend in the Middle East, created such a
catchy sound, and yet he is barely being recognized for it today. Specifically
for the Middle East, which is already a very misunderstood and
under-appreciated region, it’s unfortunate that the culture’s many positive
impacts on the wider world aren’t fully recognized. That’s why I’m such a big
fan of sharing Arabic music in all its diversity. So if you’re looking for more
Arabic music sources, follow my station on Spotify and click on the “MUSIQA”
tab on my blog for all my music-related posts!
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