Tag : Music

Hich Kas, which means 'nobody' in Persian, has been a leading Iranian counter-cultural icon ever since he started rapping publicly about five years ago. To date, he has never been allowed to sell a single CD of his music. His lyrics focus on social injustice, the widening gap between rich and poor,...

Nina uses her music to bring about positive change. Hailing from Kenya, she uses her lyrics and songs to advance the rights of the child. She wants to push society to be responsible and ensure the implementation of policies that ensure young people are engaged in nation building, using their...

The lead singer of this Germany based band is an Iranian political refugee who recorded 'Teheran Girl' as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story of a couple striving for freedom and the right to live, love and die in Iran. The central female character loves Iran yet her boyfriend craves for a freer,...

This heavy metal group, forced to flee Iran, believe that their music should be recongised because they endangered their lives to play their music., "because we left our country, family, friends and our everything to be able to play. Because we didnt have any place or any equipment to play music....

Foad Manshadi is an Iranian Bahai rapper. Bahaism is not tolerated in Iran, where the official religion is Islam. Many Bahais have been killed, tortured, or discriminated against. In his first album, 'Enghelab-e Fekri', he describes the painful discrimination that he went through for being part of...

127 are based in Iran and the USA and their album Khal Punk focuses on Iran's current socio-political climate. As rock bands and concerts are banned in Iran, this album takes a satirical approach towards what is going on in the country with an amalgamation of Iranian folk-pop and jazz with a taste...

Yas is considered one of the most influential hip hop artist in Iran. Dubbed the Persian Tupac, he is the voice for a young and restless generation of Iranian youth hungry for change in their own country and around the world. His sense of patriotism gives hope to young Iranians. With his stirring...

Even though this Iranian band recently relocated to India, they were not immune to the shock of the recent crackdown of peaceful protestors on the streets of Tehran following the disputed elections. This song is their dedication to those who died or were arrested during various protests in Iran,...

Energetic Hip Hop is a form of protest in Iran. This duo has performed in Iranian universities and continued to post songs online during the recent brutal crackdown in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 election results. The lyrics for 'Bia Bia' are about hope and happiness. They sing: "We can use...

Through Ingoma Nshya Women Initiatives, Rwandan women who have lived through the Rwandan genocide of 1994 are planting a culture of hope, faith, love, respect and tolerance. This group offers Rwandan women the opportunity to re-learn the art of living together and facilitates the healing process....

This rap began as a poem, written by Omékongo while he volunteered for two months in a Congolese refugee camp watching people die and watching mothers forced to sell their children for the equivalent of a quarter. He says the poem is an entirely true story. He saw it as his calling to document the...

Aziza Brahim is a Saharawi refugee, trapped in a conflict between Morocco and Algeria. She has never forgotten her roots and dedicates herself to being a voice for the Saharawis, a people fighting for independence. Her songs - all dedicated to the struggle of her people - evoke exile, the right to...

Lapiro's song 'Constitution Constipée' was the anthem for protesters who took to the streets angered after a constitutional change that would allow the president to stay in power indefinitely. Lapiro is now in jail, persecuted by authorities after he became a symbol of peaceful resistance for those...

Billed as 'the Muslim Madonna' by The Sun newspaper, Deeyah is a Pakistani-Norwegian singer activist. Her controversial lyrics about free speech and women's rights have outraged ultra-conservative elements within the Muslim community. Deeyah and her family have been the targets of death threats and...

Using Hip Hop, 14 young people from Recife's favelas speak out against the violence which permeates their lives. Recife is Brazil's most violent city. Child murder is a regular occurrence, tyrannical gangs control daily life and hunger is rife. The group's lyrics condemn that violence and issue a...

Following the recent incursion of Israel into the Gaza Strip, this Hip Hop group has used their music to give their peers "the hope that someday, their suffering will end; someday we'll come home; some day we will live better; and some day, our little children will see the sun again." The five...

Khatibeh 5 is a group of Palestinian refugees living in the Bourj al Barajeneh refugee camp in Beirut's southern suburbs in Lebanon. The camp was established in 1948 to accommodate an influx of Palestinian refugees from northern Israel. According to the UN, more than 15,000 refugees live in the...

Cesar Lopez has transformed the AK47, a gun which symbolises armed conflict in Colombia, into an icon of hope, inspiration and comfort. Cesar only uses AK47s handed over as gestures of renunciation of violence. He turns them into instruments and uses them to play his songs of peace on the streets...

When footage of Neda Agha-Soltan's death during the 2009 election protests in Iran circulated around the world, she became a rallying point for the reformist opposition. Neda is a word used in Persian to mean voice, calling, or divine message, and she has been referred to as the 'voice of Iran'....

Zambia is a landlocked Southern African country, ruled by a repressive single-party dictator. After 27 years of devastating socialist policies, residents have incomes lower than those recorded in 1964. Maiko Zulu is an outspoken musician who has put his life on the line for the sake of freedom,...

This Burmese musician has used his talents to promote human rights. Ko Win Maw has been jailed three times for his song writing. He is serving a six year sentence. In 1996, he was jailed on charges of singing anti-regime songs. In 1997, he received seven years hard labour and his music was banned.

This Israeli singer has dedicated her career to reviving and re-invigorating the spirit of Convivencia, coexistence between Jewish and Muslim cultures. She says the message in her artwork is of peace, unity, understanding, and tolerance and has dedicated the past decade to reaching people's hearts...

Ferhat Tunc has faced harsh opposition from Turkish authorities, the media and ultranationalists for singing in his native Kurdish language. In Turkey, the Kurdish culture is repressed and extensively monitored. Rules curtail Kurdish performances. Judicial obstructions occur at every concert and...

De Bruces a Mi use their music to bring a positive message of change to a Colombian society hit hard by poverty, corruption and violence. They call for a spiritual and emotional revolution to bring about real and lasting change in society, demanding equal rights, denouncing injustice and appealing...

District Unknown – all under the age of 24 – are the first metal band in Afghanistan, who compose their own music to inspire, challenge and provoke discussion about change and risk amongst the youth of Afghanistan. They face numerous challenges to their work, including threats from the government...

Omar is a Syrian-American Hip Hop artist, committed to creating art that entertains, educates and inspires people across the world. He uses his lyrics to raise awareness about issues as wide ranging as war, xenophobia and racial profiling, and his high public profile has allowed him to raise...

Right at the heart of the Egyptian Revolution in Tahrir Square, Arabian Knightz have continued to pursue their long standing mission – to push for equality and unity between all religions and colours. ‘Not Your Prisoner’ calls for people to stand up and demand their rights, and ask for the end of...

3 Meters Away are the first Yemeni band to sing Reggae music and have been heavily involved in the cause of the ‘peaceful revolution’, composing and performing special works such as ‘Inhale Freedom’ and ‘I’m Staying Till the Regime Leaves’. Their concerts are free and open to all, and they sing for...

Wanlov’s music calls for positive social change across all sections of society, calling for peace, love, access to education, equality for women and accountable leaders. Nominated for ‘Best African Act’ at the MOBO Awards, his music has been used to raise awareness of many issues, including as the...

Ericson Acosta is a poet, singer, actor and songwriter from the Philippines, was arrested in February 2011, without warrant by the military whilst conducting human rights and environmental research in a militarised barrio in Calbayog in the Philippines. Following days of tactical military...

Sister Fa has taken enormous personal risks to champion the rights of women and girls in West Africa. One of the most widely recognised female rap artists in Senegal, she has devoted her life’s work to raising awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation, a practice, in theory, has...

Win Maw has been an inspirational guitarist and songwriter in Myanmar (formerly Burma) for decades, continuing to make music even in the prison cell to which he was sentenced for 10 years in 2009. He expresses the political views of the Burmese people with his music which provides a rallying...

Ramy Essam began the 25th January Revolution in Egypt purely as a participant, a responsibility he felt happy to undertake, but was soon called upon by his fellow protesters to provide a soundtrack to their struggles and was quickly labelled as the ‘singer of the revolution’. He rose to...