Catching the Rappers @ the Fez Festival

Chris Witulski, our resident musicologist, is a man whom it appears needs little sleep. Yesterday he was weaving his way back and forth to try and catch the music. Here is his latest report

With the rain issues of the past few days, I truly hope that people have been able to find and enjoy these phenomenal musical activities around town. I ended up at Jnan Palace an hour and a half early, after rushing to get there, only to find that everything had been moved around once again. Luckily, the caliber of musicians that the festival organizers have brought together leaves nothing to be desired, no matter what you end up seeing.

Luckily the screening of Prem Sanyas - Light of Asia screening was rescheduled for 9pm and I was able to attend (see our report here).

Then, a short walk and a taxi ride, I hopped out at Boujloud and caught the end of the performance by the rapper, MuSlim.

From Tangier, MuSlim is a national hero for the hip hop public, all of whom came out to electrify the square.

All three members of the crew were wearing Moroccan shirts, and flags were prevalent throughout, adding to the festive atmosphere! The heavy beats emanating from the DJ's center stage pedestal vibrated the core of your body, a visceral reminder that music can cast aside the spiritual discourse of this festival and literally move you.

Then it was on again and a short walk to Dar Tazi where I suddenly realized that the Divana Ensemble (from Rajastan) was the same group of musicians that had accompanied the film I had seen earlier. As I listened to them soundcheck for the second time in a matter of hours, I decided to head home, relax, and rest. With Urbain Philéas and Abd al-Malik (a French Sufi rapper) tomorrow, I can only assume I'll need it.