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A concert by the US rapper Travis Scott at the Giza pyramids has been banned by the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate after an online campaign against the hip-hop heavyweight.

The campaign gained momentum after the claims of ‘blackwashing’ followed the release of Netflix’s Cleopatra, in which the Egyptian Queen was portrayed by a black actress. Egyptians became miffed at the idea that black people were laying claim to their traditions through via ‘Cleopatra expropriation’.

Egypt’s powerful musician’s syndicate argued that the US artist’s concert would ‘go against our traditions’ after examining social media content and the artist’s ‘positions’.

The union said it does not intervene in any musical performances “so long as they do not undermine the ancestral customs and traditions of the Egyptian people”.

The Egyptian Musicians Syndicate oversees all matters relating to live or recorded music in the Arab world, like a collective Dr. Dre. Just not black.

Egyptian social media users launched a campaign to cancel Scott’s concert, citing the American rapper’s Afrocentrism, which highlights the role of Black Africans in shaping humanity. They accused the rapper, along with Netflix of glossing over the presence of non-Black Egyptians in ancient Egypt.

In February, Egypt cancelled a performance by American comedian Kevin Hart after a social media campaign circulated some of his past comments.

Critics accused him of distorting history and ‘robbing Arabs of their claim to the country’s ancient past’ by saying the ancient kings of Egypt were black. At the time Hart’s people claimed the shows were cancelled due to ‘logistical issues, but the campaigners claimed the victory. Obviously, the logistical issue was that it was in Egypt, and the diminutive Hart isn’t much help in a riot.

International music stars often perform at the base of Egypt’s famed pyramids near the capital, Cairo, and the powerful musicians union rarely opposes such events.

However, in recent years, it has spearheaded a fight against musical genres deemed improper in Egypt with rap a frequent target.

[source:aljazeera]