{"product_id":"filling-the-head-listening-to-rap-in-arabic-hardback-9780253072962","title":"Filling the Head; Listening to Rap in Arabic (Hardback) 9780253072962","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eFilling the Head\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eListening to Rap in Arabic\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRayya El Zein (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780253072962\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 3 June 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e190 pages, 9 b\u0026amp;w illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"El Zein's \u003ci\u003eFilling the Head\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning account of the rich tapestry of voices that contribute to the thriving and vibrant Arabic rap music scenes in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. Through a series of evocative interviews and immersive descriptions that demonstrate what music can do politically, El Zein breaks new boundaries into studies of the politics of cultural resistance in and about the region. By focusing on how lyrical and musical experimentation becomes political through listening senses and embodied feelings like yearning and disgust, readers come face to face with music, not as spectacular gestural politics, but as emancipatory practices that puncture accepted framings of cultural resistance in and about the region.\"—Hanan Toukan, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Politics of Art: Dissent and Cultural Diplomacy in Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"A historically grounded and theoretically sophisticated book that is set to become the definitive work on Arabic rap and hip hop culture for years to come.\"—Tarek El-Ariss, author of \u003ci\u003eTrials of Arab Modernity: Literary Affects and the New Political\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen asked what drew them to experimental Arabic-language rap, performers and fans shared a common refrain: various artists or tracks \"filled their head\" ('\u003ci\u003eabba rasshom\u003c\/i\u003e), offering relief from their dissatisfaction, cynicism, resignation, and disgust with contemporary politics and society. \u003cbr\u003e Based on ethnographic research in Ramallah (Palestine), Amman (Jordan), and Beirut (Lebanon), \u003ci\u003eFilling the Head\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how youths in these cities have maneuvered the challenges of making music while also navigating shifting geopolitical landscapes. Through these everyday experiences of being moved by music or ideas, Rayya El Zein explores how ordinary patterns of motion and emotion provide a space for political engagement when spectacular political movements like protests, strikes, or revolutions feel far away, forced, or otherwise impossible. In contrast to existing narratives that equate rap with popular political resistance against oppressive regimes, she argues instead for affective engagement through \u003ci\u003eistifzaz\u003c\/i\u003e—provocation or surprise—as well as yearning. Within this avant-garde genre, there is no design to reach the masses with a political message; in fact, as El Zein demonstrates, the refusal of artists to confine their lyrical or musical experimentation to an ethos of resistance creates an aesthetic whose lack of singular politics defines it.\u003cbr\u003e Threading reflections from fans, rappers, DJs, producers, and venue owners with thick descriptions of live concerts and mediated listening practices, \u003ci\u003eFilling the Head \u003c\/i\u003eoffers new insights into what it means politically to be moved.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Note on Transliteration\u003cbr\u003e Intro: Learning to Listen\u003cbr\u003e 1. Revolting\u003cbr\u003e 2. \u003ci\u003eIstifzaz\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e3. Listening\u003cbr\u003e 4. Yearning\u003cbr\u003e Outro: Politics in Motion\u003cbr\u003e Appendix\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Indiana University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52525707133208,"sku":"9780253072962","price":53.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/filling-the-head-listening-to-rap-in-arabic-hardback-9780253072962","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}