CAIRO — When Egyptian rapper Aly Soliman announced on Facebook that his song “Ana Msh Bakhaf” (“I’m Not Afraid”) was cited in the unofficial early line-up for the prestigious Grammy Awards, many fans thought this may spur a wider interest in rap, a genre not widely listened to in the Middle East’s most populous nation. 

They were wrong. Despite the rapper sharing the good news on social media several times, the song's clip on YouTube has only received just over 236,000 views so far. “I am still optimistic that this will help spur interest in rap in Egypt and also in Egyptian rap abroad,” Soliman told Al-Monitor. The official nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards will be announced in early December.

But Soliman acknowledges that rap music is not a popular choice for Egyptians. “[I] and the present generation of rappers are trying to establish a public base, but this needs time. We should not expect to reach a million viewers overnight,” he said, admitting that the current number was “auspicious and encouraging” rather than “frustrating or shocking.”

Rap started in Egypt in the mid-1990s, with Omar Elmissiry, aka Boflot. Elmissiry founded "Y Crew" with Yassin Zahran, whose short stature earned him the nickname “9 millimeters,” and Ahmed Shahin, known as "The Genius.”