Yemen Hip Hop

Yemen Hip Hop is a Yemeni music style and cultural movement related to rap and hip hop culture. It has influences from American hip hop and also from traditional music from the region. It is usually considered to have emerged from mid-2000s and reached its consolidation by 2009 when the first public concert was held in the French Cultural Institute. Although it's got a variety of themes, there was an intense production of political songs by the Yemeni Revolution.

The Yemeni populations is one of the poorest of the Arab world and estimated to have a median age of 18 years. Around 60% of it is under the age of 25. In this sense, the Yemeni youth has constantly been related to issues regarding violence, unemployment, the controversial use of khat, participation in radical political groups, and other social problems. On the other hand, it has been a major actor in the latest political transformations and also on the development of a vivid hip hop scenery, facts that aren't coincidentally associated. The hip hop expressions often contemplates social-political issues and played an important role on the Yemeni Revolution. Thus, the dynamicity of the Yemeni youth has been both the spontaneous generator and the vessel of a large hip hop scene in the country, even though facing lack of institutional support.

The hip hop major outbreak in Yemen is often associated to the influence of Hagage "AJ" Masaed, an American-Yemeni rapper producing music since 1997. Although he had grown in the United States, AJ has successfully reached Yemeni audience by addressing to local issues and incorporating traditional musical language into his hits. This versatility was also one of the reasons he drew international recognition, since he entered in the Yemeni music scene, he has been partnering up with several Yemeni artists, such as Hussein Muhib, Fuad Al-Kibisi, Fuad Al-Sharjabi, Ibrahim Al-Taefi, Abdurahman Al-Akhfash and others, and helping new ones to develop their talents. He has also played a major role on propagating the understanding of rap as a means of change.
One contributing factor to the development of the music is also the creation of Yemen Music House in 2007 that has been providing assets to the development of a contemporary music scene. In 2009, took place the first Yemeni Rap public festival, co-sponsored by the French and German foreign-missions. Due to the importance of this event, AJ draws a comparison between it and the fall of the Berlin wall.

...
Wikipedia