Omar Souleyman

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Today’s Global Hit features Syrian freestyle rapper Omar Souleyman. Download MP3

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MARCO WERMAN: When we in the west think Arabic music, our minds often turn to classical Arabic music. For our Global Hit today, abandon such pre-conceptions. Musician Omar Souleyman is from Syria. Like many middle easterners, Souleyman knows his musical roots. The ancient songs of maqam, and more modern interpretations of maqam by singers like the great, late Oum Kalthoum. That’s the kind of music that creates the sonic backdrop for drinking coffee and smoking a water pipe in a small café. Omar Souleyman, on the other hand, performs music that makes you want to dance.

SPEAKING ARABIC

WERMAN:  That’s the secret to my music, says Souleyman. It’s dancing music. You can listen to my music, but it’s the strong beat, he says, that makes everyone dance.

SPEAKING ARABIC

WERMAN: Omar Souleyman says he grew up singing another traditional music, a style called dabke. Dabke is “foot stomping” music. That’s literally what it means in Arabic. Omar Souleyman now rearranges the lyrics and the beats are old dabke that have been sampled and played back on synthesizers. This is party music for the street. Omar Souleyman primes his crowd and dancers with raps, and improvises lyrics while waving a handkerchief or beads. Some western music writers have said Omar Souleyman is a Syrian freestyle rapper. But really, he takes his cues more from the Syrian street than any borough in New York. Omar Souleyman’s been performing the dabke style for the past 15 years in Syria. In the streets of Al-Hasakah in the northeast corner of Syria, he’s a legend. But Omar Souleyman has also taken his music to other parts of the region. He’s toured extensively in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.

SPEAKING ARABIC

WERMAN: It’s a popular music style, he says. It’s a mix of Syrian, Turkish, Iraqi, Assyrian, Kurdish. I sing for all these people and I’m inspired by all these people, he says. This track, like a lot of Omar Souleyman’s recordings of dabke, is not exactly high-fidelity. Think a bootleg concert tape from the street. That’s mostly where this music is played, but with the approval from the artist. Now those cassettes have gotten transferred to CD for western audiences. And with 15 years of recordings, and the enticing headline of a mad Arabic middle-aged Syrian rapper, a European tour has also ensued. Omar Souleyman is currently in the midst of it. He says he’s honored the west is taking notice.

SPEAKING ARABIC

WERMAN: I’m representing Syrian street music, he says. And Syrian popular music. And I’m representing my country. Omar Souleyman’s CD is called Jazeera Nights. You can catch a video of Souleyman performing at TheWorld.org. From the Nan and Bill Harris studios at WGBH, I’m Marco Werman. Join us again tomorrow for another spin of The World.

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