User:Maartjevos/sandbox

Under section history

Hip hop originally emerged in the United States in the 1970s and it has influenced the emergence of hip hop music in Egypt. In the early 1990s, hip hop music entered the Arab world and has since then grown into a popular music genre in the region and in Egypt. Focusing specifically on Egypt, hip hop music gained ground in Egypt quite recently. It was not until the early 2000s that hip hop began to rise in popularity in Egypt.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Egyptian musicians and producers were influenced by the American and Western hip hop music and Egyptian music groups such as MTM (Mezzika Tilakhbat Mukkah), MC Amin, Egy Rap School, and Way Crow Family began to insert hip hop elements in their own music. However, at first, Egyptian hip hop did not grow very fast and the amount of hip hop music that was produced was not extensive due to the fact that the most radiostations were controlled by the government which attempted to prevent that hip hop music would dominate Egyptian radio. It was not until the rise of the Internet that Egyptian hip hop reached a greater audience and after the rise of social media, Egyptian musicians started to share their music online and as a result, Egyptian hip hop music gained signifiant popularity in Egypt and in the global context.

Egyptian hip hop is especially listened to by individuals between the age of 12 and 30 which originate from a variety of social backgrounds. What caused the popularity of Egyptian hip hop is primarily due to the fact that this music genre mirrors reality and daily life in which a great amount of the audience recognises him- or herself. Hip hop in general, but also Egyptian hip hop, offers the youth and its audience a means through which they are able to express themselves.

The language present in Egyptian hip hop is Egyptian Arabic and English. For example, MTM uses primarily Egyptian Arabic. However, the English language is also increasingly used in Egyptian hip hop since more Egyptian hip hop groups began to insert the English language in their music in order to reach a greater non-Arab speaking audience.