Booba's concert in Morocco cancelled by local authorities after accusations of sexism
A concert of Booba scheduled for June 21 in Casablanca has been canceled by local authorities confirmed Tuesday, June 6 organizers. For several weeks, a boycott campaign accusing the French rapper of sexism had been launched. While campaign organizers welcomed the decision, others accused Morocco of "hypocrisy."
French rapper Elie Yaffa Booba, during the 15th Anoumabo Urban Music Festival (Femua), in Abidjan, April 30, 2023. © Issouf Sanogo / AFP
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Confirming information from the website of the Moroccan magazine Tel Quel, an official of the organization simply answered "yes" to AFP, to the question of whether Booba's show was canceled. The same source, who requested anonymity, attributed the cancellation to a refusal by the prefecture of Casablanca-Anfa, where the rapper was to perform.
Very popular in Morocco, Booba - Elie Yaffa of his real name - was implicated on Moroccan social networks for having made "degrading remarks towards Moroccan and North African women" in some of his songs.
Among the rapper's maligned titles: "E.L.E.P.H.A.N.T", where the star raps "little Moroccan girl slaps Berlusconi", in reference to a Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby who had participated in the "bunga bunga" parties of the former Italian "Cavaliere" when she was a minor. But also "Generation assassin", when Booba sings: "I go to the Chicha only for the beurettes".
« Hypocrisy is what's wrong with this country »
«
United we stand, divided we fall ", welcomed a user on Twitter after the announcement of the cancellation of the concert. "It feels good not to have done all this fuss for nothing," wrote an anti-Booba on the same social network. On the other hand, another netizen lamented "hypocrisy, that's what's wrong with this country".
An online petition to cancel the show has so far garnered nearly 4,500 signatures. "Moroccans felt offended to learn that rapper Booba was going to perform in Morocco," the petition reads.
The Club of Lawyers in Morocco, a professional association, has filed a complaint against Booba "for defamation and insults against Moroccan women," its president Mourad Eladdi confirmed to AFP.
1/5 The Club of Lawyers in Morocco has decided to file a complaint against Mr. Yaffa Elie Thitia alias Booba for defamation and insults against Moroccan women.
— Mourad Eladdi (@Elajouti) April 29, 2023
The call for the cancellation of the "Duke of Boulogne" concert was supported by Moroccan-born French rapper Maes. The latter, a former protégé of Booba, urged his followers on Twitter to sign the petition and called on him: "Know that you are not welcome."
The Islamist PJD party had also called for the annulment
The Islamist opposition Justice and Development party (PJD) had also called for the cancellation of the concert in a written parliamentary question addressed to the Minister of Youth and Culture.
Despite the boycott campaign, organizers still believed in the possibility of maintaining the event. In 2017, the rapper performed in one of the most important festivals in the country, Mawazine Rhythms of the World in Rabat. It had attracted 100,000 spectators, according to local media.
If it has no direct connection, it seems, the cancellation of the concert of the French rapper is part of a context of persistent diplomatic freeze between Rabat and Paris.
(
With AFP)
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