Amine So9rat: A Moroccan rapper from the North-eastern region

Résumé En

Rap has become among the most cultivated musical genres in the Arab world. This is particularly true for the post-Arab spring Maghreb. As their counterparts in other countries, Moroccan rappers usually boast of representing their towns and/or regions. Given that dialect is an important element of regional identity, many of these rappers strive to sing songs in their own local accent. As regards the so-called Eastern Region of Morocco (l-minṭaqa š-šarqĭyya), its most popular rapper is probably Amin So9rat, a committed youngster from the city of Berkane.The present paper aims at analyzing So9rat’s songs in order to provide some data on the main features of what the rapper himself calls l-lahža š-šarqĭyya ‘the Eastern Moroccan accent’, and more specifically on the spoken Arabic of Berkane, a locality where different varieties of Moroccan Arabic and Riffian Berber coexist. Furthermore, we will comment on the main topics dealt with in the lyrics.