Hamada Ben Amor — El Général

El General at Carthage Music Festival 2011

Born Hamada Ben Amor, but more commonly known by his stage name, El Général, this Tunisian rapper from Sfax has been active on the Tunisian music scene only for the past two years, but he has already made a name for himself in both Tunisia and abroad.  Ben Amor comes from humble, middle-class origins.  The youngest of four children, he still lives with his mother, a bookstore employee, and his father, a medic, in Sfax.

Ben Amor began writing rap music at the young age of eighteen, in 2008.  His first song was entitled “Malesh?” or “Why?”  In an interview with Time magazine in February of 2011, the young rapper admitted that he was heavily influenced by the music of American rapper Tupac Shakur, whose music he described as “revolutionary.”  That same year, El Général wrote his first song about the former Tunisian president Ben Ali.  He describes the song, which was entitled “Sidi Rais” or “Mr. President,” as, “A call to the president to fight corruption. I still thought he could change the situation, but eventually I realized that the president was implicated in the situation.”  The corruption of the previous regime and the difficult living situation in which Tunisians found themselves quickly became recurring themes in Ben Amor’s music.

As a result of the predominantly political nature of his songs, Ben Amor’s music suffered from censorship during the Ben Ali era, and knowledge of his work spread mostly underground — by way of social media outlets, such as Facebook and YouTube.  He was banned from performing in concert, making CDs, and being played on Tunisian radio stations.  On December 22, 2010 his famous protest song, “Tunisia Our Country” was released on YouTube, and two days later he was arrested by Tunisian police and interrogated at the National Security Bureau.  Ben Amor was held for three days before he was released after being forced to sign a statement pledging to no longer produce political music.

After the January 14th revolution which resulted in the overthrow of Ben Ali and his oppressive censorship measures, El Général’s music enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity and international appreciation.  In particular, his song entitled “Rais Lebled,” released in December 2010, became known by many as the “anthem of the Jasmine Revolution.”  The song quickly spread, and was adopted by many of the protesters in Tahrir Square after Egypt’s January 25th revolution.

In the midst of a rapidly changing and integral period in the region, El Général has continued to write music and to develop his professional career.  His upcoming album “La Voix Du Peuple” (The Voice Of The People) is being supported by the new Tunisian Ministry of Culture.  Click here to access El Général’s Facebook page.

Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2049456,00.html