WELCOME MAGHREBIZZ!

Arkadaşlar,

this week I am going to introduce you to the Maghrebizz, a Moroccan musical group who raps on the streets of Milan, in Italy. What I like the most about Maghrebizz is the message they try to convey: just like some other immigrants who emphasize their timeless nostalgia towards their homelands, or who like Aziza.A, live in the so-called 'third dimension' (a new spaceless space which is neither their homelands nor the new country, but instead more like an elusive identity that encompasses both of them) these guys rap about the difficulties of being a foreigner in Italy, but they add to the well-known recipe a new, unexpected ingredient: their love for pasta!  'When you get used to eating pasta, it means you have become Italian' - Youssef Chibani (aka You Swaag, 27, the lyric composer) jokes, but he means it. Despite spending their childhood in Morocco, they belong to a generation that really wants to become more and more integrated in the new country. No third-dimensions, no need to find a way to escape from themselves, no denouncing Italians for not letting them in. Rather than finding differences, these guys desperately want to belong and they try to do so with their music.

''Often Italians do not understand that after more than ten years here, I don't want to go back to Morocco. It would be almost like a foreign country for me now. I have many friends from Sicily (South of Italy, translator's note), and when they make jokes about my ethnic origins, I remind them than my skin is whiter than theirs! - He laughs, and he adds -  ''Once we went on holidays to Naples and, when there, some local guys began making jokes about our Milanese accents! '' (2)


The group is composed by two other guys: Nawfal Sakr (aka N.I.M, 24, music composer) and Adil (aka Pappoz,20, beat maker). Their stories do not differ so much from many other foreigners' in Italy: they left their country in their teenage years together with their families with not much more in their luggages than the hope of finding better job opportunities in Italy. ''We talk about real life, about everything and everyone. - Yousseff explains - When we decided to become a music group, we chose the name Maghrebizz because we liked the way it sounds and because it connects us to our fathers' land.'' Of course, as much as they want to live in Italy, their country is still in their thoughts. '' (1)

Their Arabic rap speaks Italiano and shouts 'Wake up!'. They plan to write songs which speak more and more Italian: '' We will reduce the Arabic words in our next lyrics: of course we do not want to get rid of our ethnic identities, but we feel are Italians and we want everyone to be able to understand our songs.  Our goal is not to become successful. What our music hopes to do is conveying a message. We would like to offer our music to the new generations (or foreigners) born in Italy, we want one day to be able to tell our sons :'My son, listen, this is your father, this is his life''. (2)

Adil ''Parroz''

Of course, despite their eagerness and energy, they don't try to obscure certain sides of their lives as immigrants-- dualities are always two-faceted, after all.

FREDDO D'ASFALTO (Asphalt-like Coldness) , for example, talks about being different and the loneliness one feels because of it:

<<
  Hey kho gli anni passano e i tempi cambiano / gli amici restano chissà se ci ricordano, / e dove sono l'amicizia riassunta in una foto.../ soldati senza grado / malgrado questo freddo d'asfalto giuro che che vi ricorderò,/ giuro che combatto,/ la solitudine mi rende pazzo,/ chiedi alla luna quanto ho pianto.../ Hey gioia scusami il tuo nome non lo faccio,/ dove sei/dov'eri così bella/ così celeste / she's my baby / ti ho perso l'altro ieri / c'est ca la vie/ ero troppo in extasy /non ti prego ma perdonami.

(...)

Non so più cosa dire o cosa scrivere / non so più nemmeno come fare a vivere / è da troppo tempo che non riesco a ridere. / Mi sento solo in questa società / sembra un incubo questa realtà /ho tenuto duro per così tanto / ora sono solo veramente stanco. 
 >>
 
 English: Hey Kho years go by and times change / real friends stay and who knows if they remember / and where are them? / friendship summarized in a picture.../ Soldiers without ranks / despite this asphalt-like cold I swear I wıll remember you / I swear I am fighting / Loneliness drives me insane / Ask the moon how much I cried... / Hey baby sorry I don't say your name / where are you / where were you so beautiful / So delicate* / she's my baby / I lost you yesterday / C'est ça vie / I was too excited / I don't beg you, but forgive me if you can.

I no longer know what to say or to write / I don't even know how to carry on / I haven' t been able to laugh for too much time / I feel lonely in this society / It feels like a nightmare this reality / I have been holding on for so long / Now I am just really tired.


Likewise, in ZERO PROGRESSI (Zero Improvements), they sing 

'' The crime pours on poor areas / (You have to) Kill to have an impact / Be a criminal to survive / Don't talk to me about equality'' . '' I did not choose this life / I didn't / It made me grow up quickly / It doesn' t give you time / It does not wait for you / The society does not accept you / you speak, scream, cry and nobody cares / Loneliness tears you apart''.

Their music hopes to shake people and urge them to improve their conditions: ''I was listening to an Arab guy once, he was telling me about how he ended up living on the street, and I began crying. This is what the Arabic intro of Zero Progressi means: we should not be quiet, if you don't speak, nothing will ever change'' - Nawal adds - ''This is why I am writing a song titled ''Wake up!''. True, some of our songs are sad, they denounce negative life experiences, but we do so in an attempt to improve things. Rap is kind of a revolution''.


The positive remarks and comments to their article on stranieriinitalia.it (foreigners in Italy) and their songs video on YouTube definitely show that these guys have many followers among their peers, both immigrants and Italians. I will follow their next steps and keep you updated. For now, let's all wish them good luck with their mission!

Notes:
(1) translated into English from: http://www.stranieriinitalia.it/nuovi_cittadini-maghrebizz._il_rap_milanese_parla_anche_arabo_16283.html

(2)  translated into English from: http://lacittanuova.milano.corriere.it/2013/01/30/maghrebizz-il-nostro-rap-arabo-parla-italiano-e-dice-svegliati/

* They refer to a famous Italian song written by the artist Zucchero (aka Adelmo Fornaciari), titled ''Cosi celeste''. The word ''celeste'' means in Italian ''baby blue'', but also ''celestial / delicate / heavenly''.