Iranian hip hop

Iranian hip hop, also referred to as Persian hip hop,^[1][2][3] refers to hip hop music developed in Iran.^[4][5][6] It is rooted in American hip hop music, but is also credited with inspirations from contemporary Iranian music.

History

Iranian hip hop emerged by the 2000s, from Tehran, the capital of Iran.^[7]

Offering an accurate history of the underground activities of Iranian rappers inside the country would not be possible to be published due to the fact that such artists were always under pressure, and the resources regarding the main meeting programs and the formation of very pioneering individuals or bands would not be released to the public due to the very same facts but it is likely to argue that Soroush Lashkari is one of the individuals who found the 021 music group. 021 was one of the very first groups recording hip hop music in Iran. As it was mentioned, it was co-founded by Yashar and Shayan duo and Soroush Lashkari, better known by his stage name Hichkas.^[8] Both started by recording mixtapes and later on combined hip hop with elements from Iranian classical music,^[9][10] in case Soroush and has a unique theistic and nationalistic lyrical style, avoiding vulgar words while referring to social issues.^[9] His first album Jangale Asfalt ("Asphalt Jungle") was one of the first illegally published Iranian hip hop albums, and brought much recognition to his name in Iranian communities.^[9] It is pertinent to point out to Yashar and Shayan's groundbreaking untitled album in 1999, now active as an underground group "Vaajkhonya".

Zedbazi, founded in April 2002, is known as the pioneer of gangsta rap in Iran.^[11][12] They rapidly achieved a huge popularity among the youth, due mainly to their controversial lyrics littered with profanities and depictions of sexual encounters and drug use.^[13] They are also credited with starting a new movement in Iranian music.^[14]

Bahram, an underground Iranian hip hop singer,^[15] is named as "one of the 50 most influential people shaping the culture of the Middle East" by The Huffington Post and Al-Monitor.^[16][17] His debut album 24 Saat ("24 Hours"), released in August 2008, was described as a powerful commentary on the modern-day of Iran by Rolling Stone.^[18]

Yas was the first Iranian rapper to be authorized to perform by the Iranian government.^[19][20] He reached a national fame by writing a song entitled (Break The Disk) which was written about a well known female actress Zahra Amir Ebrahimi in Iran who was the victim of sex tape scandal that was getting widespread. On December 21, 2011, he was chosen by voters as the Artist of the Week on MTV Iggy, entitled "Tehran’s Hard-Hitting MC".^[21]

Hangi Tavakoli is one of the political hip hop artists from Iran. Because of the harassments caused by Iran's former government he had to leave the country in 2011^[22]. Now he is running his music label Flipside Production in one of south east Asian countries and working with international artists. ^[23]

Samples

	Zamin Safe A sample of the song Zamin Safe by Zedbazi.
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	Nemitooni Band Koni Paamo Be Zamin A sample of Nemitooni Band Koni Paamo Be Zamin (feat. Paya) by Erfan.
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See also

• Music of Iran
• List of Iranian hip hop artists

References