Tripoli, Libya – As bitter as it sounds, 2023 and 2024 were prime years for Libyan rap. The country’s political instability, economic hardship, ongoing conflicts, corruption, the devastating flood in the city of Derna and no real hope for a joint government offered plenty of material for new songs.

Libyan rap flourished as authorities were fairly easy going. Last August, the Eastern administration under General Khalifa Hiftar gave their okay for the first Benghazi Summer Festival in 15 years. For the Benghazi-born rapper M C Mansour Unknown, it was the first opportunity ever to perform on stage in his hometown.

Since then, pop up concerts and other rap events have been attracting ever larger audiences. Last week, MC Mansour Unknown performed together with the Libyan rap star KA7LA in the city of Derna at a sold-out concert.

Yet, it seems that this could have been the last time. This week, first the Eastern, and then the Western authorities clamped down on the popular music genre. “The spread of rap songs, some of which contain obscene words, violate the moral values of the Libyan Muslim society,” a statement by the Eastern administration said.

From now on, rap musicians in the East have to obtain permission from the Benghazi-based Interior Ministry, whereas artists in the West have to get this from the Tripoli-based Culture Ministry. Both entities review if the content of the songs encourages crime, sex work, suicide or rebellions against the family or society. Without such permission, performances will be strictly forbidden across the country.

The same rule also applies to ‘theatre shows, acting, musicals, dancing or singing performances in any place or through any means’. According to the Eastern Interior Ministry, the new rule is in line with the country’s constitution which states that freedom of expression ends where public morals are violated and conflicts with religion.

“The Eastern authorities frame these restrictions as being Islamic societal rules,” Virginie Collombier, professor of practice at Rome’s Luiss Guido Carli University and co-editor of the book ‘Violence and Social Transformation in Libya’, told DW.

“This is done in a very skilful way as the authorities make sure that the broader society sides with them’, she said, adding that ‘this however marginalises those people who would like to express their views in different ways, whether it’s through art, music or even more broadly, politically.’

Rap as political outlet

In turn, Libyan rappers who address issues in their lyrics that can be understood as ‘rebellious’ now fear a return to previous patterns of repression.

During the period under dictator Moammar Gadhafi from 1969 to 2011, rap music was officially forbidden. It only existed underground and among the Libyan diaspora. However, in the run-up to Gadhafi’s overthrow in 2011, rappers such as Youssef Ramadan Said, better known as MC Swat, used their rap songs to call on young people to rise up.

In February 2011, MC Swat released ‘Hadhee Thowra’ (‘This is Revolution’), in which he encouraged people to take to the streets and rebel against Gadhafi. The song became somewhat the anthem of the Libyan uprising and kicked off a golden era for Libyan rap. At the time, the then-23-year-old told US broadcaster CNN that his track described the feeling of ‘touching freedom.’

DW