'Decadent' rap music outlawed in Iran
Country vows to clamp down on artists who circumvent government
Last Updated: Friday, November 30, 2007 | 3:40 PM ET
CBC News
Iran has declared rap music illegal and says it will hunt down rap artists who attempt to reach local audiences.
"There is nothing wrong with this type of music in itself," the official for evaluation of music at the culture and Islamic guidance ministry told Iran's IRNA news agency.
"But due to the use of obscene words by its singers this music has been categorized as illegal," he said.
Rap music has become popular among young urban men, especially in the capital Tehran.
Western rap music is widely available on the black market and local artists are being inspired by the Iranian exile community in Los Angeles to rap about social and political issues.
But local artists must work underground as Iran forces musicians to gain permission from the culture ministry to produce albums and hold concerts.
The ministry decried the practice of releasing music on the internet and thereby bypassing the government, and said it had already identified a large number of illegal rap singers.
Illegal studios will be closed and rap singers "confronted," the ministry said in its edict.
The Islamic republic's hardline officials have repeatedly complained about a "cultural invasion" by "decadent" Western music, which they believe contravenes Islamic values.
Iran is in the midst of a crackdown on Western books and TV shows that are considered decadent, and has stepped up warnings against women who are not covered enough to satisfy Islamic hardliners.
With files from Australian Broadcasting Corp.Share Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:40 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's family asks for government help
- The family of a Toronto woman who died in pursuit of her lifelong dream to climb Mount Everest is asking the Canadian government to help pay the cost of bringing her body back to Canada. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Sotheby's Canadian art auction sets records
- Sotheby's auction of Canadian art produced a sale total of $3.55 million Thursday night in Toronto, with record prices for several Canadian artists, including Paul-Émile Borduas, whose Froissement Multicolore sold for $663,750. more »
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
- Elton John cancels Las Vegas concerts over illness
- Elton John is suffering from a serious respiratory infection and has cancelled three Las Vegas performances on doctors' orders. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 12:44 PM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 12:09 PM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- New mom among dead in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- SpaceX capsule captured by Canadarm2
- Coffee prices get jolt in jittery economy
- Gatineau police to question man in multiple homicides


