When news breaks, you need to understand what matters β and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? The soundscape transports you. The sharp electronic snare beats and deep bass rumble, with samples and autotuned lyrics in street slang, taking you to Cairo at night, floating down the Nile on a party boat with dangling neon lights and a tinny speaker.
This genre of underground Egyptian rap is called mahraganat, and it elevates the soundtrack of the new Marvel series Moon Knight.
Egyptian director Mohamed Diab has brought the controversial sound to the show, which stars Oscar Isaac as, among other roles, an antihero who struggles with mental health issues. He is also the living avatar of an ancient Egyptian god. In the third episode, a breezy Egyptian pop song wafts down the Nile and then cuts to a blaring mahraganat track, which starts a group of boaters dancing.
The song is by Hassan Shakosh, who is censored in Egypt. Shakosh precipitated a country-wide assault on the music. Yet through online streaming and digital distribution, Shakosh has become a superstar.
For the musicians in Egypt taking rap in new directions, Moon Knight is a mainstream breakthrough, a chance for international audiences to understand a little more about the country.
