The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
- 'First' Afghan female rapper seeks reason with rhymes
- Rain to appear before military disciplinary committee
- Springsteen named MusiCares' Person of the Year
| 'First' Afghan female rapper seeks reason with rhymes Posted: 03 Jan 2013 05:59 AM PST KABUL: Sporting a long leather coat and western jeans under a headscarf, Soosan Feroz looks like many modern women in Kabul. But she is a surprising new phenomenon in this conservative Islamic country - the nation's first female rapper. Her lyrics though are not unfamiliar for many of her fellow countrywomen - she raps of rape, abuse and atrocities that Afghan women have endured during decades of war in a country gripped by poverty. "My raps are about the sufferings of women in my country, the pains of the war that we have endured and the atrocities of the war," Feroz told AFP in an interview in the office of a local company that is helping her record her first album, between local performances including at the US embassy in Kabul. Like most fellow Afghans, the 23-year-old says her life is filled with bitterness - memories of war, bombing and a life at refugee camps in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. She was taken to Pakistan as a child by her parents and later to Iran, escaping a bloody civil war at home in 1990s. Two years after the 2001 US-led invasion of her war-scarred nation that toppled the Taliban, the then-teenager returned home with her family. She worked as a carpet weaver with her other siblings for a living until she discovered her new talent. Told that rap and hip hop had become a way for many artists around the world to express daily hardships in their lives, Feroz says: "If rap singing is a way to tell your miseries, Afghans have a lot to say. "That's why I chose to be a rapper." She recalls her woes at Iranian refugee camps in her first recorded piece of music, "Our neighbours", which has been posted on Youtube and viewed nearly 100,000 times: "What happened to us in the neighbouring country? "We became 'the dirty Afghan' "At their bakeries we were pushed at the back of the queue." The lyrics are borne from personal experience, Feroz said. "As a child when I was going to bring bread from our neighbourhood bakery, the Iranians would tell me, 'go back, you dirty Afghan'. "I would be the last one in the line to get my bread," she said. Millions of Afghans still live in Iran and Pakistan, which together hosted about seven million refugees after the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Feroz was too young to remember the bloody battles of the 1980s between the Russian soldiers and freedom fighters known as mujahedin but her first song is full of war tales, with one line proclaiming: "We went to Europe for a better life (but) in refugee camps we rotted." Thousands of Afghans put their lives on the line every year to reach Europe through dangerous and illegal routes on land and sea. Those who make it often spend years in isolated refugee camps. Afghan pop star Farid Rastagar has offered to help the young artist release an album, the first song of which will be released in January. One of the songs is called "Naqis-Ul Aql" which can be translated as "deficient-in-mind" - a common belief about women among Afghan men. "In this rap, she sings about the miseries of the women in Afghanistan, about abuses and wrong beliefs that still exists about women," Rastagar told AFP. Afghan women have made some progress since the fall of the Taliban but many still suffer horrific abuse including so-called 'honour killings" for percieved sexual disobedience. Feroz, the daughter of a former civil servant and an illiterate housewife who remarkably let their daughter sing, has already made scores of enemies not only among conservatives but within her own family. After releasing her first song on the internet, Feroz's uncles and their families have shunned her, accusing her of bringing shame on them. Others, mostly anonymous callers, have threatened to kill her. "What's my fault?" she asks. "I always receive phone calls from unknown men who say I'm a bad girl and they will kill me," she says, her dark eyes welling with tears. Sitting next to her is her father, Abdul Ghafaar Feroz, who says he prides himself on being her "personal secretary". "I'm not deterred," Feroz said, her father nodding his head in agreement. "Somebody had to start this, I did and I don't regret it and I will continue. I want to be the voice of women in my country." - AFP |
| Rain to appear before military disciplinary committee Posted: 02 Jan 2013 11:28 PM PST SEOUL: South Korean pop icon Rain is to be disciplined after it emerged he may have flouted military service rules while dating a top actress, the defence ministry said Thursday. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters that the 30-year-old singer would appear before a next week. "However, he is not expected to land in jail," Kim said. Rain is a little over halfway through the two-year military service that is mandatory for all able-bodied South Korean men. He has been serving as an "entertainment soldier" who appears in military-run TV and radio programmes aimed at boosting morale. South Korea's well-oiled celebrity gossip machine went into overdrive this week when it was confirmed that Rain had begun dating Kim Tae-Hee, a major TV drama star with a massive following in Japan. Fan excitement over the match-up between two of the country's most high-profile celebrities was tempered by questions over how the couple had managed numerous dates over the past four weeks. During their military service, South Korean men are largely confined to their barracks and given little free time. Tabloid pictures of the couple showed Rain, 30, driving a private car in military uniform, contrary to service guidelines, and not wearing his army beret. The singer failed to wear a beret outside his camp and made "private contact" with the actress three times while returning from official duty, ministry spokesman Kim said. The singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-Hoon, is one of the biggest names in the world of K-pop, which commands a huge following in South Korea, across much of Asia and beyond. After the tabloid pictures emerged, the ministry's website was bombarded with messages calling for Rain to be disciplined, with thousands of people signing an online petition urging an investigation. Some suggested he be forced to repeat his military service like the "Gangnam Style" star Psy who was made to serve twice after it emerged he had furthered his showbiz interests during his first stint. Celebrities are frequently caught attempting to evade military service for fear they might be forgotten by their fans while in uniform. In 2011, popular hip-hop singer MC Mong was given a suspended jail sentence for delaying his conscription into the military on false medical grounds. The fact that Rain and Kim Tae-Hee, 32, were indeed dating was confirmed by Kim's agency on Tuesday. "They are currently getting to know each other," the agency said in a statement. Kim is best known for her roles in popular Korean dramas such as "Iris" and "Stairway to Heaven", and is in great demand as a brand publicist. Military service is taken extremely seriously in South Korea, which remains technically at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty. Apart from those with physical disabilities, exemptions are rare and anyone refusing to serve - for moral or religious reasons - faces an automatic jail term. One of the best-known cases of evasion involved Korean-American pop singer Steve Yoo. In 2002, just as he was about to be called up, Yoo gave up his Korean nationality and became a naturalised US citizen. The South Korean government considered it an act of desertion and he was deported and banned from returning for life. - AFP |
| Springsteen named MusiCares' Person of the Year Posted: 02 Jan 2013 11:16 PM PST REUTERS - U.S. rocker Bruce Springsteen has been named MusiCares' 2013 Person of the Year in recognition of his artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work, the Recording Academy said on Wednesday. Springsteen, 63, will be honored at a February 8 gala in Los Angeles hosted by comedian Jon Stewart and held in conjunction with the annual Grammy Awards, the recording world's most prestigious honors which will be handed out on February 10. "The Boss" has actively supported many charities over the years, including those focused on homelessness, hunger and helping veterans, and last year he participated in benefit concerts to aid victims of superstorm Sandy. Among top music stars slated to perform at the MusiCares gala are Sting, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Elton John, Tim McGraw and Patti Smith. Past MusiCares Person of the Year honorees have included Tony Bennett, Bono, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin Billy Joel, Elton John, Sting, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti and Barbra Streisand. New Jersey native Springsteen, known for hits including Born To Run, Born In The U.S.A. and Dancing In The Dark, has won a string of honors including Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards. He has often taken inspiration from his home state and used his star platform to highlight both its charms and challenges, most notably in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy which devastated New Jersey's famous coastline in October. MusiCares, which was established in 1989 by the Recording Academy, maintains a foundation that provides programs and services to members of the music community such as emergency financial assistance, educational workshops and other support services. |
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