Across North Africa, songs have repeatedly become more than entertainment, preserving memories of political upheaval, migration and social frustration even after protests have disappeared from the streets.
From Sudan’s 2019 revolution to Tunisia’s Arab Spring and the music of migration and working-class frustration in Morocco and Algeria, artists have provided communities with a cultural language through which political experiences can survive.
Among the works highlighted are Sammany’s “Matalib,” Emel Mathlouthi’s “Kelmti Horra,” Rachid Taha’s rendition of “Ya Rayeh,” the music of Morocco’s Nass El Ghiwane, and Babylone’s “Zina.”
The songs come from different countries and historical circumstances, but collectively demonstrate how music can carry political memory when formal political expression becomes difficult.
‘Matalib’ Carries Memory of Sudan’s Revolution
In Sudan, Sammany’s “Matalib,” meaning “Demands,” became associated with the 2019 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir after three decades in power.
The song continues to carry the memory of that period even as Sudan has subsequently descended into a devastating civil war.
Its continued relevance illustrates one of the distinctive characteristics of protest music.
Political circumstances can change dramatically, governments can fall and revolutionary optimism can fade, but songs can preserve how a particular historical moment felt to those who experienced it.
In that sense, music becomes an informal archive.
Tunisia’s ‘Kelmti Horra’ Becomes Symbol of Arab Spring
A similar relationship between music and political memory emerged in Tunisia.
Emel Mathlouthi’s “Kelmti Horra” became closely associated with the 2011 Arab Spring after the singer returned from exile and performed before large crowds.
The song became an unofficial soundtrack to a political moment that would ultimately influence events far beyond Tunisia.
Music offered a way for ideas about freedom and political change to circulate emotionally as well as intellectually.
For people participating in demonstrations, a song can transform individual frustration into a shared experience.
Years later, it can perform the reverse function — taking listeners back to the emotions surrounding those events.
‘Ya Rayeh’ Speaks to Migration and Exile
Not all politically resonant music emerges directly from street demonstrations.
Rachid Taha’s rendition of “Ya Rayeh” speaks to generations of migrants leaving home for political or economic survival.
The song’s themes of departure and exile give it significance beyond a particular political movement.
Migration is one of the defining experiences connecting North Africa with Europe and other regions.
Songs about leaving home can consequently acquire political meaning even without functioning as conventional protest anthems.
They speak to the economic and social conditions that cause people to leave and to the complicated emotional relationship migrants maintain with the places they have left behind.
Morocco’s Nass El Ghiwane Gave Voice to Frustration
In Morocco, Nass El Ghiwane became associated with expressions of working-class frustration during the reign of King Hassan II.
Their music continues to resonate, including through football stadium chants where older songs can find new audiences.
The survival of such music across generations demonstrates how songs can move between political contexts.
A piece created in response to one period can later be adopted by younger listeners facing different circumstances.
Stadiums can also become important spaces for collective expression, with chants transforming songs into mass participation.
Algeria’s ‘Zina’ Carries Multiple Meanings
Algerian group Babylone’s “Zina” offers another example of how listeners can find political meaning in music that may initially appear to concern something else.
Often understood simply as a love song, Zina can also be interpreted as a lament for a homeland that listeners feel has become distant or lost.
That ambiguity can make music particularly powerful.
Songs do not always need explicit political slogans to communicate disappointment, displacement or longing.
Music as a Political Memory Bank
Taken together, the examples from Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria demonstrate that resistance music does not have a single form.
Some songs become directly associated with revolutions. Others address migration, economic frustration or loss.
What connects them is their ability to preserve emotions and experiences that official political narratives may not fully capture.
Governments change, protests disperse and political movements evolve.
Songs can remain.
They can be rediscovered by younger generations, adopted in new settings and given meanings their original performers may never have anticipated.
Across North Africa, that has made music an enduring vehicle for remembering moments when people demanded change — and for expressing dissent when more direct political expression becomes difficult.
