Calls for canceling French rapper Booba's concert in Morocco over 'misogynistic songs'

Boycott calls surge against the upcoming concert of French rapper Booba in Morocco over the singer's "misogynist, sexist and racist" lyrics regarding Moroccan women.

For the past few weeks, hundreds of Moroccans launched a petition against Booba's concert set to take place in Casablanca on 21 June. The petition has so far gathered over 3,000 signatures.

Booba is at the heart of the controversy particularly over his song  "Génération Assassin" where he sings: "I go to the shisha only for the beurettes." Beur or beurette are pejorative terms in French to designate European-born people whose parents or grandparents are immigrants from the Maghreb. 

Also, in an excerpt from his track "E.L.E.P.H.A.N.T", he sings: "Little Moroccan f**** Berlusconi". This also added to the controversy surrounding the rapper since the lyric refers to the sex scandal of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that involved an underage Moroccan sex worker.

#لا_لإستقبال_بوبا_بالمغرب
بعيدا عن الرياضة لكن حملة يستحق المشاركة فيها بحس وطني 🇲🇦 مغني فرنسي قام بالإساءة لبنات بلادي لن نقبل أن يتم القيام بحفل خاص به في الدار البيضاء يوم 21 يونيو ‼️‼️#ENDM pic.twitter.com/xRf4qIq40j

— ENDM Moroccan Team (@ENDM_Twit) March 17, 2023

The Moroccan opposition Party of Justice and Development (PJD) was the latest to join the boycott campaign calling on the Minister of Culture Mehdi Bensaid to cancel the controversial concert.

"The rapper in question is famous for raising controversy in many cases, and Instagram banned his account by decision of the Judicial Court in Marseille in 2022, after a complaint related to sexual harassment," wrote the PJD in its note to the minister.

The 46-year-old rapper is regularly accused of harassment by several famous personalities, the latest one being the wife of his fellow French artist Maitre Gims.

Even though he restored his brand account on Instagram, META's ban on the rapper's personal account with over four million followers is still in place for sharing intimate conversations and pictures of other celebrities without their consent.

A source from the Moroccan Ministry of Culture said the ministry has no ties with the French rapper's upcoming concert as it is organised by a private company.

The concert is organised by 10motions, a Casablanca-based production company, in partnership with Booba's label record Tallac Records.

A source from the tourer of the event believes that "the boycott campaign is financed by third parties", adding that "Booba has done several showcases in Morocco since 2017 and it has always happened in the best possible conditions."

The organiser says that more than 60% of the tickets have already been sold, an information Booba confirmed in a tweet last month. Two months before the event, tickets for normal and VIP seats are still available on all local websites.