Songs for the Atlas Lions of Morocco (or Afcon 2013 Playlist Playlist N°5)

Despite high hopes, Morocco’s Atlas Lions crashed out of Afcon 2013, but that didn’t prevent young Moroccans from bumpin’ and groovin’ to radio pop. First up is the internationally renowned and veteran Algerian crooner, Khaled, known for hits like “Aicha” and “Didi.” In late 2012, Khlaed released a new album with a new single, “Hiya Hiya,” which features American rapper/songwriter Pit Bull.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyG0DQWD-80

Then’s there’s Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” We sure hoped that our national team would “shine bright like a diamond” at this year’s Afcon tournament. Rihanna’s melancholic song reflects our dashed hopes of football glory. Alas, maybe at next year’s World Cup we’ll be more successful (yeah right).

“Tombée pour elle” (fell for her), is an R&B song by Booba, a Half Senegalese and half French artist who has been rapping since the mid-1990s.

Yes, Britney Spears & Will.i.am’s “Scream and Shout.” Despite her mental meltdown a few years ago, Moroccan music fans have not given up on Britney. Teaming up with Will.I.Am (from the Black Eyed Peas), this Gangnam Style-like hit is ruling Morocco’s airwaves and club scene.

Moroccan rap artist, Fnaire (and Soprano, featured on the song), hails from the city of Marrakessh. Together they perform what they coin as “traditional rap”. They mix tradition music (like Chaabi music) with hip hop, and infusing it with lyrics about social and political issues that resonate among Moroccan youth.

* Youssef Benlamhih blogs and tweets about international affairs.

Further Reading

From Cape To Cairo

When two Africans—one from the south, the other from the north—set out to cross the continent, they raised the question: how easy is it for an African to move in their own land?

The road to Rafah

The ‘Sumud’ convoy from Tunis to Gaza is reviving the radical promise of pan-African solidarity and reclaiming an anticolonial tactic lost to history.

Sinners and ancestors

Ryan Coogler’s latest film is more than a vampire fable—it’s a bridge between Black American history and African audiences hungry for connection, investment, and storytelling rooted in shared struggle.