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Medusa TN
Hip-hop artists with geopolitical beats
In our ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, GZERO is highlighting artists from around the world who show the geopolitical impact of the genre. To hear 50 artists from 50 countries around the world, check out our playlist here.
Medusa TN is a 31-year-old Tunisian rapper and a prolific example of the explosion of creative expression that followed Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, an uprising that inspired the Arab Spring, a wave of pro-democracy protests across the Middle East and North Africa. Medusa came of age during the revolution, and now her music pushes back against her country’s new leader, Kais Saied, and his slide back towards autocracy.
She is one of few Tunisian hip-hop artists to have an international audience, helped by her songs alternating between Arabic, French, and English, sometimes even in the same verse.
Against the backdrop of Saied’s policies undermining the rights of Tunisian women, and much of Tunisia's popular hip-hop degrading women, Medusa has risen to the top with songs about abortion, sexual harassment, and feminism (give “Consent” and “Size Me” a listen).
Her work doesn’t shy away from calling out Saied for his racist rhetoric against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, and she told Vice News that her work is intentionally political, noting that “if you’re criticizing the people in power, you’re doing political rap.”
Beat Box and Balloon
Hard Numbers: Hip-hop hits half a century, rising death toll from Hawaii fires, Malaysia checks rainbow Swatches, abortion tops US concerns, India passes new data law
50: This Friday marks 50 years since the date commonly recognized as the birthday of hip hop, when Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc rocked a party at a residential building on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, cutting together drum breaks for people to dance to and throw rhymes over. The New York-born art form — which encompasses MC’ing, DJ’ing, breakdancing, and graffiti — has since spread around the globe to become the single most influential worldwide cultural movement of the past half-century. For a look at what the culture was like in the early days, there’s nothing better than the 1982 cult-classic film “Wild Style.”
55: The death toll from devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, has now risen to 55. Strong winds from Hurricane Dora and dry conditions fueled by climate change contributed to the blazes. But scientists say the growth of a "highly flammable" invasive plant ruining the natural ecosystem is also making it easier for fires to spread.
3: You know what time it is in Malaysia? Time to let you know that the government there on Thursday imposed a 3-year prison sentence for owning or wearing a watch from Swatch’s Pride Collection, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. Malaysia still criminalizes same-sex relationships and recentlycanceled a major music festival after the lead singer of British band The 1975 bashed the country’s anti-gay laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage. Here’s a look at the global divide over LGBTQ+ love.
77: As the 2024 presidential election looms, what’s the most important issue for US voters? Abortion, which topped the list for 77% of Americans in a new Economist/YouGov poll. Here’s a GZERO explainer on why the issue is so sensitive in the US.
30 million: India has passed a landmark new data privacy law that imposes fines of up to $30 million for mishandling user data. But critics have focused on a provision in the law that permits the government to block content in the public interest. Given the broader crackdown on independent media in India in recent years, there are concerns the law could be used to stifle criticism of the government.
A Brazilian hip hop artist who brings his community not just music, but food
An intimate look at a popular Brazilian rapper who has become an unlikely hero for the poorest of the poor in a sprawling community outside of Brasilia, Brazil's capital. Marcos Vinícius de Jesus Morais, aka Japão, has organized an effort to supply poor families with critically needed food and medical equipment, because "they put me in the position where I am. So today I just give them back everything they did for me. You see that today in the capital of Brazil, people are going through this kind of need, it is sad, regrettable, and cruel."
Watch the episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: Brazil on the brink
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