Moroccan rapper denies stripping, obscenity

Moroccan rap and hip hop singer Taoufiq Hazeb said nude pictures circulating on Arab and Moroccan websites are not his, insisting the images fabricated using Photoshop.

The rapper, also known as "Bigg" and "Loser", appears in skimpy underwear in the pictures, singing with his band.

Hazeb further accused those who call his lyrics “inappropriate” of hypocrisy: "My lyrics are inspired by our Moroccan slang, nothing more. I don't use obscene words. I just refer to things by their original names."

Hazeb told AlArabiya.net that Moroccan youth like his music because it represents them: "For the first time Moroccan music is free and unfettered. Unlike the official media, it speaks the language of the youth, not that of politicians and parliamentarians."

Hazeb added that in his first album Mgharba 'Tal Mout (Moroccans till Death) speaks of frustrated young Moroccans and the harsh reality they are facing: "I did that through using the new language of the youth, not the pompous classical Arabic."

Hazeb, who has been accused of tainting the image of Moroccan politicians, reiterated that he does not slander anyone, but rather exposes them for what they really are.

His song Bladi Blad (My Country) goes, ”my country is a country with a parliament half of whose members are asleep and the other half never shows up."

Hazeb stressed that he is not afraid of anyone of them: "I never made fun of someone who didn't deserve to be made fun of."

The Moroccan rapper added that his music, which is very close to the reality of young Moroccans from poor and working class districts, broke away from traditional Moroccan singing that has become monotonous: "There is one sentence, and the singer keeps repeating it more than 10 times."


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).