Ali Abdel Rahman (Cairo)
Against the background of the decision of the Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professions, headed by artist Hani Shaker, to stop the singer of popular festivals, Omar Kamal, from singing after his recent statements against the union and the captain of musicians, until further notice.
In the absence of time, a new type of music spread, accompanied by untidy or unkempt words, despite the weak words and weak music, but it spread strongly and achieved mass success on the scene, so the musicians searched for a new name for it to classify it until it was settled on “festivals”, which is the phrase About a mix between “rap” and “techno” music, based on words from the Egyptian environment with a fast rhythm according to their musical classification.
And between the state of rejection that some see as “musical insolence” that has nothing to do with singing, and a severe danger that threatens public taste and Egyptian art because of the vulgarity of its words and unrelated musical rhythms, and the state of acceptance that you find inside the corridors of popular places, alleys and alleys, which they use at weddings as an expression of the state of euphoria that She sorts it through her lyrics and loud musical rhythms. It has achieved a great spread among young people who do not exceed the age of thirty, which they see as reflecting the state of their tongues.
Despite the attempts of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate headed by the artist Hani Shaker, which all failed, to stop this phenomenon and to raise the value of serious art, the festival songs succeeded in transcending the local space, and they reserved a place for them in the Arab singing artistic seasons, and in return the real talent took the viewer’s seat .
After every decision issued by the Musicians Syndicate regarding the legalization of the status of “festival songs”, and the legislation of a legal mechanism that obliges its makers to choose words that suit public taste, the latest of which was stopping festivals singer “Omar Kamal” from singing because of his statements against the union and the captain, a heated debate left him between union members and singers. Festivals top the scene for several days, and the end result is one “the situation remains the same”.
It is noteworthy that festival songs began to spread in 2007, when Ahmed Figo formed the first festival team with his friends, and his fame was limited to weddings and Shuaiba areas in the neighborhood of Salam City in Qalyubia, and over time their fame became popular among the popular circles, and it was the main entrance for a group of dreamy young people to sing and achieve fame. And money, and festival teams have spread widely since that time and have developed their tools, whether technical or musical, and choose topics that simulate the issues of Egyptian society from their point of view.
Hani Shaker devoted all his efforts as a captain of musicians since he took over the presidency of the union in 2015, in limiting the phenomenon of festival songs, especially after the success of festival songs singers escalated on the Egyptian street, and the issuance of many serious decisions to reduce this widespread phenomenon on the Egyptian street and to raise the value of purposeful art, and to develop solutions And the controls for these singers in order to legally adopt them and work under the umbrella of the Syndicate of Musical Professions, like other singers and musicians.
Shaker previously stated that his disagreement is not with the quality of the music presented in festival singing, but in choosing appropriate words for social customs and traditions, and this has been followed since the establishment of the Syndicate of Musical Professions in 1955.
Despite Shaker’s serious attempt to set ethical controls to maintain the level of the word used in festival songs, his decisions always witness a state of division between his supporters and opponents of the pioneers of social networking sites, so the question remains: Will the artist Hani Shaker withstand the chaos of festivals?
