Crass singer capitalizes on Lebanese crisis
CAIRO: During times of hardship, you can count on one Egyptian crooner to capitalize on the unrest in the Middle East. For this singer, the current Israeli attack on Lebanon is just one in a long list of atrocities to make use of.
If you’re not familiar with the singer in question, you haven’t been living in Egypt for very long. Yes, I’m talking about no other than Shaaban Abdel Rahim, aka Shaabola , the overweight, flashy and always trashy singer of the masses. He also happens to be the most politically incorrect entertainer in the world.
Don’t get me wrong; there are a few things about Abdel Rahim to be admired. After all, one must respect the way this illiterate, poor man who used to make his living as an ironer shot to fame, becoming one of Egypt’s most famous singers.
Only the problem is, he can’t sing. In fact, his glass-shattering, nerve-grating voice produces the same effect as that of nails being scraped across a blackboard. There is simply no way of stopping the shudder that accompanies his tunes.
If his singing abilities aren’t bad enough, let’s take a look at his sense of style. Always clothed in mismatching prints. For example, a striped blazer, with a polka dot tie and bright yellow pants, he gives the expression bad taste a whole new meaning.
Then again, no one judges a book by its cover, so let’s get down to what makes Abdel Rahim so, well, awful.
To do that, we have to look back at his hits , the songs that somehow made their way into the hearts of a big chunk of the Egyptian public.
The most memorable of his tunes was his so-called patriotic song, entitled, “I hate Israel, to which Abdel Rahim can attribute his success. The catchy subtitle of the song, “But I love Amr Moussa, Egypt’s former foreign minister and current head of the Arab League, catapulted the singer’s ditty into the consciousness of the entire Arab world.
Then there was the release of the anti-American and anti-Saddam Hussein single, Hitting Iraq.
If that wasn’t tasteless enough, his production manager announced earlier this week that the singer is reportedly releasing a new single to protest Israel s attack on Hezbollah.
Entitled For Only Two Soldiers, a reference to the two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 kidnapping by Hezbollah sparked the three-week-old conflict, includes lyrics such as, “Oh Arab men, wake up.
The singer also goes on to sing, One thousand times I warned of Israel, they thought I was kidding, the song opens. The truth is now clear. Because of two soldiers, they make a big fuss. They forget the massacres and the millions of prisoners. I feel sad for Lebanon and its people who were attacked and also for Palestine. Where is the voice of Arabs?
Undoubtedly the song, which follows the same formula as all of his other smash hits, will probably, be a success, which says something about the taste and values of the Egyptian public.
In terms of entertainment, is Abdel Rahim what the depth and roots of Egyptian music have come to? Has the lyrical genius of Abdel Halim Hafez and Um Kalthoum dwindled down to the immature, superficial, ludicrous music of Abdel Rahim?
For a country whose celebrated musicians have become historical references, whose powerful voices and words made an entire region stand on its feet and cry in pain, to turn to Abdel Rahim is not only a mockery, but also a bitter disappointment in our lyrical future.
Another great issue is that of song and dance during times of conflict. According to Reuters, a video clip released on the Arabic entertainment channel, Melody, shows Abdel Rahim singing in front of a background of pictures of destroyed houses and bodies of children.
Not only is this extremely inappropriate, but it is also tactless of the singer to use images of people suffering for a tune that, despite its words, is not in the least melancholy.
If Abdel Rahim feels so strongly about the war on Lebanon, then perhaps he should do something more constructive, such as donate money or volunteer with the Red Cross. But singing about the war and making a personal profit from such is just wrong in my book.
