You can tell how out of the loop I’ve been by how long this website has been up without me reporting on it: I Love Hip Hop in Morocco - the film - launched this summer and will be playing at several upcoming festivals.

You have no idea - I’ve secretly had the (apparently, very secret) trailer on my computer for over a year and although I’m no longer in contact with anyone who worked on the film, the prospect of such a documentary is immensely exciting. As one of the reviewers says: “Two things the far right can’t stand - hip-hop and Muslims - come together in this documentary.”

I wrote about this awhile back, but for some background - In 2005, a Fulbrighter named Josh Asen traveled to Morocco to study ethnomusicology and ended up producing a concert series and subsequently a documentary on Morocco’s burgeoning hip-hop scene.

For those of you unfamiliar with the scene, you need only look around any of Morocco’s bigger cities (and even some of the smaller towns) to see kids dressed in the latest hip-hop fashions (a phrase often taught in English language schools) and Yankees caps, imitating their favorite American, French and now Moroccan hip hop stars.

Popular Moroccan MCs include Bigg, who speaks fluent English and raps about the problems facing his country; H-Kayne, one of the oldest groups and from Meknes, where I lived for two years; and Fnaire, another group featured in the documentary. I’d provide links, but the I Love Hip Hop in Morocco page is very thorough and has done a better job than I could attempt.

My favorite thing about the movement, if I may call it that, is that it has inspired a lot of young urban kids (as it once did in my own country) to make their own music, often much to the dismay of their parents. My brother-in-law, who has met every group mentioned and was at the original concert (and still talks about meeting Josh) is one such example - an incredibly intelligent kid who doesn’t like school all that much but excels at music and the arts…and may soon have an outlet in which to do so.

**Addendum: For those of you in NYC, please support this film at the Queens Film Festival - November 10 at PS 166.