The song that I chose for this assignment is El Melouk by Ahmed Saad. This song is a mix of Egyptian rap music and another genre called Mahraganat. Mahraganat is Egyptian electronic rap music. This genre of music was created by Egyptian wedding djs in the early 2000’s and quickly gained popularity with younger generations. The government has not been accepting of this music, and has used a lot of shaming and censorship techniques to suppress it. Still, this genre has become a favorite of protestors and those who reject the strict tradition the government pushes.

I first heard this song in April from a Marvel TV show called Moon Knight. I really liked this song because it had a familiar beat but it had this distinct flare that isn’t in American rap music. Ahmed Saad also has a very deep voice that I enjoy. This song went viral on Tik Tok from Americans who encountered the song. I remember seeing videos made by people in Egypt who were freaking out that this artist was going viral in America. This song is played when the show transitions to Egypt, and people praised Marvel for using a modern Egyptian song that is representative of the culture today and for bringing attention to this genre. Ever since I saw that episode I have loved the song, so I was excited that I could share it.