It was a rap song about strong and beautiful women in her city, but some people found it to be offensive: via washingtonpost
on Twitter on Friday that the video “offends the customs and traditions of the people of Mecca and contradicts the elevated identity and traditions of its sons."
After bin Faisal ordered the prosecution of Ayasel and her production team, the performer deleted her official channel and took down the video with it. It is unclear if any legal action had been taken against her as of early Monday morning. But many Saudi critics say that Ayasel did nothing illegal or harmful toward Mecca, which millions of Muslims visit each year to make a pilgrimage to the Great Mosque. Instead, they say, she was merely being targeted for performing as a black woman in a country that stigmatizes both female identity and dark skin.
Notably, the video for “Mecca Girl” includes mostly black backup dancers, as Ayasel raps about the beauty of dark-skinned women in particular. “She’s white, shines like a lightbulb,” she says in the video. “She’s dark, her beauty stings."Despite the country’s conservative reputation, a vibrant rap scene featuring both international and homegrown rappers has blossomed in Saudi Arabia over the past decade.
, a Saudi hip-hop star also known as “Don Legend the Kamelion,” mixes English and Arabic lyrics and appears regularly on Saudi television.of a decades-long ban that prevented women from driving. With lyrics such as “I don’t need anyone to take me/ I put the seat belt over my abaya,” her performance was largely well received, drawing more than 2 million views.
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