Rap and hip-hop were both a driving force, and a coping mechanism, for people in the Middle East and North Africa during the Arab Spring. In particular, the music of Tupac Shakur resonates with Arabs, long after the U.S. rapper's own death. But why? Michel Martin looks for an answer, along with Khaled M, a Libyan-American rapper.
MARTIN: So how big is Tupac in Libya?
M: I would say that Tupac is, still to this day, the biggest western music artist in Libya, maybe along with Bob Marley, but the two are definitely neck-and-neck.
MARTIN: Give me an example of, like, how I would experience that if I were to go.
M: It's everywhere. I mean, I was shocked because I grew up listening to Tupac over here and, you know, my first time ever going to Libya in my life was last year, and I was shocked. I mean, visually, you see it everywhere. You see graffiti, RIP Tupac. Just riding around in the streets, you still see people playing his music from the '90s to this day, and I'm talking about kids that are 18, 19 and 20 years old that may not have been around when he was making music, but his influence is huge. I mean, he's still the premier hip-hop artist in Libya.
MARTIN: Not just hip-hop artist, but artist who represents, kind of, the soundtrack of what young people are listening to. Does that...
M: For sure.
MARTIN: ...sound about right? Why do you think that is?
M: I think he made music that's very relatable. I think Tupac really represented a struggle. He represented trying to come up out of your environment and be something bigger, exceeding expectations and, you know, that's something that all of the youth in Libya can relate to.
MARTIN: I just want to play one of Tupac's songs now. I want to play "Only God Can Judge Me." Let's hear some of that and maybe you can talk a little bit about how, why a theme like this would resonate. Here it is.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME")
TUPAC SHAKUR: (Singing) Dear Mama, can you save me? (Bleep) peace 'cause the streets got our babies. We got to eat. No more hesitation. Each and every black male's trapped and they wonder why we suicidal running 'round strapped. Mr. Police, please try to see that it's a million (bleep) stressing just like me. Only God can judge me.
MARTIN: So talk a little bit about - if you would - about how you feel some of these themes kind of dovetail with what's on people's minds.
M: I mean, the situation that he's speaking of is something that, you know, Libyans can relate to, kind of an oppressive, authoritative figure, whether it's police, whether it's Gaddafi's military guards, kind of rebelling against them and responding to that with, you know, only God can judge me and, you know, God knows what our true value is as human beings.
MARTIN: You know, it's interesting that I think, if people think about it, they might think about how music has played a role in social movements lots of places around the world. I mean, in the United States, for example, in the civil rights movement, nobody would think about the civil rights movement without thinking about the music that people used to inspire them. I mean, there are many, many stories about people who were imprisoned singing to give each other courage and strength.
THEY LITERALLY PAC 2PACS SONG IN THE VATICAN.
