Ramy Essam in Los Angeles on Nov 25: Ramy Essam is recognized in Egypt, across the Arab World and globally as the singer of the Egyptian revolution. Arriving in Tahrir Square in the midst of the worst fighting of the January 25, 2011 uprising, within 24 hours hed written and began performing the song Irhal! (Leave!), the song that quickly became the anthem of not merely Egypts revolution, but uprisings across the region. Irhal became internationally known through YouTube, and is referred to as the anthem of the revolution. In 2011, it was selected by Time Out as the third-most world-changing song of all time. Not long after becoming a revolutionary icon, Essam was grabbed off the street and brutally tortured by Egyptian security services (as described in a famous 60 Minutes special done about him), and has been harassed routinely by the government since then. After several tours across Europe and South Africa, and winning the prestigious Freemuse Award for artists fighting for human rights of musicians, Essam had been prevented from leaving the country by both the Morsi and Sisi governments, and increasingly prevented from performing live or appearing in any state or private-controlled or allied media in Egypt. In October 2014, Essam became the first musical artist to be awarded a safe cities visiting artists-in-residence award, from the Swedish city of Malmö, where he will reside the next two years, using the time to study, record, and tour globally while continuing his activism on behalf of Egyptian democracy and human rights. levantinecenter.org/event/ramy-essam-egyptian-rocker-and-human-rights-activist youtube/watch?v=bjj61p3IO3Y
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 05:32:33 +0000
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