Arab Pride: Egyptian rapper Wegz to perform new song at World Cup 2022 closing ceremony in Qatar

Egyptian rapper Wegz has released a new song, Ezz el-Arab (Pride of the Arabs) and will perform it live at the closing ceremony of the Qatar World Cup 2022 in Lusail Stadium on Sunday

Wegz, who topped the Spotify 2022 chart for Arab singers, released the new song released Wednesday, It concludes the official Qatar FIFA 2022 soundtrack that has featured the likes of Nicki Minaj, Myriam Fares, K-Pop band BTS' Jung Kook, who opened the ceremony in November with chart topping song Dreamers.

The Egyptian rapper's announcement caused some controversy in Egypt, which imposes restrictions on certain musical genres such as hip-hop and popular 'festival' music Mahraganat. The announcement raised questions about whether his performance needed authorisation from the authorities back in Cairo.

 

 

 

 

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The announcement came a few days after the music professions’ syndicate head Mostafa Kamel declared that no rap singer would be allowed to sing in Egypt before being licensed, local privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported.

Since Wegz was outside the country, he faces fines or questioning upon his return, the report added.

However, the World Cup performance was declared "an exception due to him being outside the country over the past 45 days,” head of the syndicate interrogation committee Mohamed Abdullah said, without mentioning further details.

It remains unclear whether the union will penalise Wegz for singing in Qatar.  

After a highly exciting tournament, Wegz will perform an electrifying track for the official Mondial soundtrack entitled “Ezz El-Arab” ((Pride of the Arabs).  The video song has attracted one million views one hour after it had been released by FIFA on social media platforms.

Wegz, whose real name is Ahmed Ali, is one of the most successful Egyptian singers of his generation. His latest track “El-Bakht” (The Luck) garnered about 150 million views on YouTube only.

The musicians’ syndicate has been at odds with rappers, electro-beat “mahraganat” singers and others singing untraditional genres, especially during the time of Kamel’s predecessor Hany Shaker in what rights groups perceived as “an attack on artistic freedom.”  

In October, the syndicate temporarily banned "mahraganat" singers, as part of a crackdown on the hugely popular genre, one of the first decisions taken by Kamel after he took over the union’s leadership.

Shaker had earlier led a campaign against what he called an "unacceptable" genre, issuing a decision two years ago that banned “mahraganat” singers from performing at clubs, cafes, hotels and concert venues.

The closing ceremony will take place at 1 PM GMT, followed by the Argentina-France final at 3 PM.