Rap Satire and Anti-Rap Propaganda: Iranian Rapper, Video Maker, Promoter React

by Julie Jigsawnovich

Rap music and style have been exploited in movies and TV shows approved by Ershad, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, with depictions that distort and deviate from the spirit of real Iranian rap. I asked Fred, Shaya, and Adrenaline to express their opinions of this material. Farbod "Fred" Khoshtinat created the video for Hichkas’ “Ye Mosht Sarbaz” (Bunch of Soldiers) track [and has since won a 2010 Democracy Video Challenge award and also directed the "Dasa Bala" video for Arash] Shaya may be the only female rapper still trying to create and perform new songs inside Iran. Adrenaline is an underground rap promoter. They do not know each other, and they answered the following questions separately, without seeing each others’ answers.

JJ: How would you describe the “rap” in the trailer for this Iranian government-approved movie, Shame-e Aroosi (Wedding Dinner), which you can see here?

S: I don’t like this. This is a kind of joke.

FK: This is fast rhyming about moral things like weddings and stuff.

A: Honestly, I didn’t even watch it to the end. I can describe it in one word: “garbage”.

JJ: Are you surprised that Ershad allowed “rap” and “graffiti” to be shown in a movie in Iran, when Police there arrest real rappers and graffiti artists?

S: No, but we are sorry when we see these scenes in our movies. They show this just to give some fun to every person that bought a ticket.

FK: The thing that they are against are the lyrics that have been used in rap. And, by the way, you can never see such a thing in Iranian TV. This is Iranian cinema–whole different rules!

A: Sorry that I didn’t put it in a charming, polite way. I don’t care about the governments, because I have seen many crazy things from them that make “inviting Lil’ Wayne for a show in Iran national TV” like nothing. And you don’t need to worry about the POLICE! They can arrest you for ONLY WALKING IN THE STREETS! It’s up to them–they have the right to arrest anyone at anytime if they feel like it! So don’t worry about police arresting graffiti artists!

JJ: Do you think this movie helped or hurt rap in Iran?

S: Absolutely hurts.

FK: I don’t think it has any effect on rap in Iran. I don’t really consider that song a rap!

A: You don’t need to worry about third question either! Because there are only A FEW people–like 15, or maybe 20–in Iran who really know the real hip-hop! So Persian rap is already hurt! We need a miracle here.

JJ: Has rap been shown in any Iranian movies or on Iranian TV lately?

S: I saw some rap music in movies, but they portray rappers as sick people.

FK: No, there is no such a thing as rap in Iranian TV.

A: Sorry, because I don’t watch Iranian TV or movies–NEVER! And I mean it!

JJ: Fred, I heard there was an Iranian TV show called Shock that used HichKas songs. And this TV program was State propaganda–saying all rappers use drugs and are into devil worship. Did you see Shock? Is it true what I heard about that show?

FK: Yes, it’s all true about Shock. It also showed some parts of Hichkas’ “Bunch of Soldiers” music video.

JJ: I heard that rap music was considered “Western music” in Iran, and was therefore forbidden for most rappers to perform. No?

FK: My opinion is that their main concern is on the lyrics. We have legal rock and pop, but they have moral lyrics.

JJ: I think the lyrics to Hichkas’ “Bunch of Soldiers” do show a type of morality. He’s talking about loving God, friends and family–and being ready to defend his country against attack. He is saying he is street wise, but that he has made mistakes. He is not saying anything ****ual, and he is not criticizing the regime. What more could they ask for? Really!

FK: Hichkas is someone outside the system who is leading some people. This is some big political issue. Hichkas is influential, and the regime dislikes this.

JJ: How did you feel when you saw the “Bunch of Soldiers” video you made for Hichkas included in Shock?

FK: I was shocked and amazed. Iranian TV just showed five seconds of the video, where Hichkas is moving his hands fast–while a Shock narrator claimed that drugs made rappers and Satanists mad. It was propaganda to convince the society about arresting the rappers.

JJ: Did the inclusion of the “Bunch of Soldiers” video in Shock help or hurt your career?

FK: It hurt. That inclusion meant that they had their eyes on us–and they really did.

JJ: When did Shock first show on TV?

FK: I think it was summer before last–I’m not sure. But two months after that they started to arrest underground artists, again.

***

From the archives of Oct. 2009

Hichkas "ye rooze khoob miad" performed by a little girl

The very poetic words to this song were written by the Iranian rapper, Soroush Lashkary, who goes by the name Hichkas. "A good day will come that we won't kill each other/won't look at each other in a bad way/We will be friends with each other/putting arms around our shoulders/like childhood in school--and none of us will be jobless/We're rebuilding IRAN..."After all this blood rains, someday a rainbow will show up/The sky won't be from stone anymore/river's color won't be red like roses...
An English translation of the lyrics is here:

Hichkas Feat. Pishro "Bazam Kalan" Video

(Click through for widescreen.)

This is like a dream mashup of vintage Sesame Street and Tehran rap! Learning Farsi could be so fun with these guys as teachers!

Hichkas Feat. Pishro "Bazam Kalan"

Music by Mahdyar

Directed by Masood Moeen

Tehran Rapper's First Concert Is Outside Iran: Videos of Hichkas in Malaysia

Video of Tehran rapper Hichkas' first concert, which took place outside of Iran. Rap is mostly banned inside Iran. Here's an article about the words to this song, "Ye Rooze Khub Miad."


Click through for widescreen.

Here are some more videos of the concert. I wish I could have been there to see him in person. I hope he comes to New York!

Hichkas Freestyle with new Candis designs

I don't know what he's saying, but Hichkas has a certain charm. Hichkas and Reveal perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this Saturday night.

Hichkas & Reveal Perform Live Together for First Time

This will be Hichkas' first legal live concert!

Iranian rapper Hichkas, the "President of Iranian Hip Hop", performs in the Cannes Award winning film, "No One Knows About the Persian Cats" currently showing in New York and soon to open nation-wide. Hichkas recently released the track, "Ye Rooze Khoob Miad" which implicitly shows support for democracy in Iran while at the same time showing support for Iranians' reconciliation. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Hichkas says and does next, now that he is outside of Iran! The Fred Khoshtinat video for Hichkas' Ye Mosht Sarbaz is one of the reasons that I visited Iran last May. I hope that while he is in Malaysia he makes another video!

Hichkas has featured British-Iranian rapper Reveal on some of his most amazing, Mahdyar Aghajani-produced tracks--including "Dideh & Del". Hichkas and Reveal were both featured recently by British-Iraqi MC Lowkey, on "Long Live Palestine--Part 2" which was a smash hit and climbed to the top of the charts. (Lowkey recently performed at Southpaw in Brooklyn together with DAM, the Narcyssist, and Shadia Mansour.)

This concert is sure to be epic!!!!!!!! I hope they come to New York soon!

Facebook Event Page:

"HICH-KAS AND REVEAL LIVE IN CONCERT

"Friday, May 14, 2010 at 9:00pm

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 2:00am

Dragonfly

Jalan Kia Peng

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"For the first time ever, live in concert all the way from Tehran Iran, we are proud to present an event of truly epic

proportions...

"For years Hich-kas has dominated the Persian rap scene even though circumstances have been such that he has been unable to ever perform live in concert.

"Now, for the very first time, Hich-kas will be performing live alongside special guest Reveal all the way from London, UK for one night only at the exclusive Dragonfly venue in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"This performance marks the start of the international Hich-Kas tour , the dates of which will be announced shortly...

"Make sure you do not miss this truly historical event!!!!"

THIS EVENT IS SELLING OUT VERY VERY QUICKLY, PLEASE MAKE SURE U BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!

FOR MORE INFO AND TICKETS CALL:

006017-2053 079

006017-2053 360

006017-2053 361

This event is organized by SEDAYE NOU and sponsored by GULLY GARMZ.

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Quf: I Remember When The Alphabet Grabbed My Legs and Begged Me

photo/design: Azim Fathi

by Julie Ann Ashcraft A.K.A. Julie Jigsawnovich

"Quf raps in Persian and is known for his inventive and poetic use of Tehran slang. Sometimes he coins new slang together with his producer, Mahdyar Aghajani--and the 'President of Iranian Rap', Hichkas. An excellent example of this endeavor is the Quf track, Basse Moftbari. Quf's emphatic yet cool delivery and the dark, dank scenes conjured by the lyrics are complemented by Bidad's chilling traditional Iranian vocal style, Madhyar's beat and vividly trippy music, the mix and Guy Buss' incredibly three-dimensional mastering. This track was released in January and I still listen to it at least five times a day. There is an element of theater to Basse Moftbari, yet it somehow captures a street reality. My favorite line is the last one: "This is all reality so don’t curse me." ‎اهدافت فقط چند تا داف بشکه

You can hear the song, and see the full songwriter credits and lyrics, at http://mahdyaraghajani.com. Mahdyar is currently producing Quf's forthcoming album Ziro Bame Zirzamin, an alternative hip hop LP which is a mixture of hip hop and Persian traditional music.
(c) 2011 Julie Ann Ashcraft   All rights reserved  For permissions contact: julieannashcraft (at) yahoo (dot) com

Hichkas Ye Rooze Khoob Miad Lyrics: Neda Soltani Reference?

Julie Jigsawnovich asked her friend, Adrenaline, to translate and discuss the lyrics to the new Hichkas song, "Ye Rooze Khoob Miad" which Soroush Lashkary (Hichkas) co-wrote with his producer, Mahdyar Aghajani. Although Adrenaline certainly cannot speak for Hichkas or for Mahdyar, he has lived in Iran all his life and is very insightful, and well-versed in Iranian Hip Hop and in recent Iranian political events.

What's your opinion of "Ye Rooze Khoob Miad"? ( "A Good Day Will Come")
Andrenaline: Unforgettable.
What's Hichkas saying?
Andrenaline: It starts like this :
"A good day will come that we won't kill each other/won't look at each other in a bad way/We will be friends with each other/putting arms around our shoulders/like childhood in school--and none of us will be jobless/We're rebuilding the IRAN/I can't translate this part./"After all this blood rains, someday a rainbow will show up/The sky won't be from stone anymore/river's color won't be red like roses/"mozan azan begoo." "moazen" is someone who pronounces some religious words when it's praying time. azan is praying time.
Jigsawnovich: So poetic!
Adrenaline: Totally. It says, "moazen…" "Do your job."
"The sky won't be from stone anymore/River's color wont be red like roses/
mozan azan begoo/God is great…hope you will be away from trouble/Mom…pray for us tonight!"
That was the first verse.
"As long as I know…this nation always said that a good day will come."
But lemme explain this one for you.
"ta jaayi ke yadame in khaak hamishe NEDA miad ke ye rooze khoob miad "
So, it's somehow related to Neda Agha Soltani (R.I.P)…but the translation is:
"as long as I know…this nation always said that a good day will come."
So he's making a reference to Neda, but not in a real obvious way?
Adrenaline: Yup.

a!

Adrenaline: "That there is no anarchy, and in crowds/we'll give each other cookies instead of calling bad names."
Wow, Neda can be a name--and my Farsi dictionary say it also means, "a call, an evocation."
Adrenaline: The translation is not that bad, but it's the best that I could… Exactly. "We are good and everything is alright/only we are missing our friends who aren't here/Blood will remain in body and it won't be introduced to sky and ground/It (blood) won't collapse and be thrown away/so mothers won't have to visit a child's grave/The home won't be a 'panahgah' (somewhere you feel safe at wars) with war outside the house/God damn, I'm torn apart inside…like Bam."
You know the story of Bam, the city, right?
No idea.
Adrenaline: Bam is a city of Iran…like seven years ago…an earthquake came to Bam…and after that….there is no Bam! 90% of the people of the city died in that accident. It was terrible. So Hichkas says,
"God damn I'm torn apart inside…like Bam or like Hiroshima after the bomb/I don't know/I'm burning and singing this song/You might think to yourself that I'm crazy/but a good day will come…I know it."
This was the second verse.

verse 3 :
"Hey! When a good day will come…nothing might remain of us but happiness and goodness/--no more unsafeness…everything is safe."
Can't translate this part...skipping...
Ok.
Adrenaline: "Sky…wow, it's beautiful/Beside the grave is green…trees and flowers/No more brains are getting away." (He is talking about the genius people of Iran… who will immigrate to other countries which give credit to them.)
"It will be okay if you stay on/No other countries will take advantage of our country/Don't say: 'Oooo, where is tomorrow?!"
This is my favorite part of the song:
"If I'm not here anymore/I want you to make me a promise/that you will give a flower to every soldier you see."
AWESOME , especially the words in Farsi.
"No more birds inside the cages/and no more open minded women are 'biveh.' "
Biveh?
Adrenaline: A woman who married, and got divorced is called biveh. Being biveh is not a good thing in our culture right now.
So, he is saying, don't look down on divorced women?
Adrenaline: F---ing 3rd world--and it's not a good word either.
Is he showing support for open minded women?
Adrenaline: He said,
"No more will open minded women become "biveh" for their thoughts."
That's right.
"My daughter…your dad is coming home…./go and make the table for dinner."
The end.
Eyval! (Good job!) He is saying men should not divorce women for being open minded women?
Adrenaline: Yup.
Cool!
Adrenaline: Extremely cool! You can't feel like how I feel. You should be Persian and you should live your whole life in Iran to understand the words and expressions he's using in his song.
When he talks about giving flowers to soldiers, what does that mean?
Adrenaline: And as you may know…the name of the song is, "A Good Day Will Come."
Is he saying to honor the soldiers?
Adrenaline: 50% is that.
Or to help make the soldiers peaceful towards the people in Iran?
Adrenaline: After the election when soldiers beat up the protesters in streets, usually protesters gave 'em roses to make them ashamed for what they'd done to their people. So somehow it's related to this.
Wow! You translated all the words Hichkas says?
Adrenaline: Yup...it was the best I could do. You should ask for the better translation from Mahdyar.
Kheyli motashekkeram tarjome-e shoma! (Thank you so much for your translation!)
Adrenaline: You're welcome.
Ghashang! (Beautiful!) Is it okey if I publish your translation on my blog if i credit you as Adrenaline, and mention that an official translation will be coming soon on Mahdyar's website? (You can also hear the song there.)
Adrenaline: Yep, that's okay with me.
Adrenaline is working on some tracks of his own. I'll keep you posted, when he releases them!

March 19 UPDATE:
People are telling me that "biveh" means widowed, not divorced.

They are telling me that the part in the Hichkas song is about women's husbands getting killed, not about their husbands divorcing them.

Adrenaline: I know what widow means--a person who is in a relationship and his/her wife/husband died. It can be biveh too! It is a slang! Thats how people use this word. Who cares what "biveh" means EXACTLY in a dictionary. In society, people use it the way I told.

You said it wasn't a good word. People are making fun of the woman who is divorced, by acting like her ex-husband died?

Adrenaline: No, they don't make of her--but it's mean!

So tell me, because Hichkas talks about no more birds in cages--

is this why you figured that he mean slang "divorced" woman instead of actual widow?

Adrenaline: Thats right.

Cool! So maybe this is a tricky thing Hichkas is doing, like the Neda Soltan reference--like it could be taken two different ways.

Adrenaline: The Neda part--yes. The biveh part--no !

I mean as a person who lived his entire life in Iran, I don't know the dictionary meaning of "biveh", but I do know the meaning that society gave to this word.

Cool! What about the open-minded woman--what was the Farsi term for this?

Adrenaline: Its complicated. I'm not good at that part.

Okay, well thanks for the hard work you did translating.