Iran is using rap music to promote hardline Islamist values and nuclear energy ambitions, while dissident artists are jailed for defying the regime.
Dozens of Iranian rappers have been arrested since the early 2000s, when hip-hop started gaining traction in the country, and last month rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest.
Salehi, 33, had released songs criticising the Iranian regime and demanding greater liberties and women’s rights. He also posted pictures of himself attending some of the protests held in support of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for wearing an ‘improper’ hijab.
As rap gained popularity in Iran, the Islamic Republic tried to discredit the genre, even branding rappers as ‘satanists’. But their attempts were unsuccessful so the regime started commissioning musicians to ‘spread their ideology and trying to influence young people’, exiled Iranian hip-hop singer Ghogha told France 24.
Some rappers are now singing pro-government lyrics, posing in photos with politicians close to the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards, and earning up to $10,000 a month.
However, disgraced Iranian rap artist Justina has warned fellow artists that ‘the minute you cross the political red line, you become a target’.
The Iranian government has used rap music to promote hardline Islamist values and nuclear energy ambitions. In his 2015 song Energy Hasteei, rapper Amir Tataloo (pictured) asserted Iran’s right to self-defence and hailed the nation’s nuclear energy program. He sang in his chorus ‘this is our absolute right, to have an armed Persian Gulf
But fellow musicians have warned that ‘the minute you cross the political red line, you become a target’. Toomaj Salehi (pictured) is one of the rappers who has been targeted by the regime over his music. He was sentenced to death last month for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest in 2022
Amir Tataloo, 36, one of Iran’s most controversial rap artists, first gained notoriety for his criticisms of Iran’s human rights record.
The musician, who is tattooed from head to toe, then adopted a conservative stance, promoted a pro-government agenda and even issued support for president Ebrahim Raisi during his 2017 campaign.
In his 2015 song Energy Hasteei, asserted Iran’s right to self-defence and hailed the nation’s nuclear energy program. He sang in his chorus ‘this is our absolute right, to have an armed Persian Gulf’.
The music video for the song, which features back-up vocals from Iranian soldiers, was made in support of the Iranian military and police and opens with a line stating: ‘No power can prevent the Iranian nation from having peaceful nuclear energy.’
Instagram also blocked his account in 2019 after he allegedly published anti-women content and promoted child marriage. He also shared alleged plans to ‘Sultan’s Palace’ in Turkey, where he intended to host girls aged 15 to 20.
But Tataloo, real name Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, changed his stance yet again and ended up in exile in Turkey, before being deported to Iran last year and sent to prison on accusations of producing and publishing ‘obscene’ works.
His trial, which is still ongoing, began in March, state-run Mizan news agency reported. He was accused of creating clips, songs, and images containing vulgar and explicit content.
Other allegations against him include ‘establishing a gambling operation, inciting individuals to access obscene content, encouraging crimes against chastity and sexual perversions, and promoting corruption and prostitution.’
Amir Tataloo, 36, one of Iran’s most controversial rap artists, first gained notoriety for his criticisms of Iran’s human rights record. However, he later adopted a conservative stance and produced a song promoting the country’s nuclear energy ambitions. Tataloo is pictured in his Energy Hasteei music video
The Energy Hasteei music video was filmed on an Iranian warship and made in support of the Iranian military and police
Back-up vocals were provided by Iranian soldiers and the video opened with a line stating: ‘No power can prevent the Iranian nation from having peaceful nuclear energy’
Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (pictured) had vocalised support for the wave of ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ demonstrations, leading to his arrest in October 2022. He also released songs criticising the Iranian regime and demanding greater liberties and women’s rights
The first Iranian rap album, The Asphalt Jungle by Hichkas, was ground breaking when it was released in 2006.
Rap and hip-hop quickly became an ‘ubiquitous act of rebellion’, The Sunday Times reported, because artists refused censor their music or obtain correct permissions from the government.
Many performers were arrested and studios were raided, but the regime knew it would not win a popular culture battle and instead decided to use the genre to its advantage.
Justina explained that ‘rap is very popular in Iran’ and that as long as the music is ‘not political’ or challenges the government, musicians can be quite successful.
‘As long as rap is about partying, drugs and hooking up, you get the impression that the regime has no problem with it,’ Justina told France 24. ‘On the contrary, they advocate depoliticised male rap, which suits them.’
She added: ‘With the development of streaming, some artists are making a lot of money, up to $10,000 a month. They give concerts abroad and come back to Iran without being hassled because their music doesn’t bother anyone. It’s not political.’
But the regime continues to resent politically-motivated music and has taken action against artists who challenge its ideologies, including at least two who were linked to protests sparked by Amini’s death in 2022.
Amini died in September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab rules. Demonstrations since have led to thousands of arrests, as well as reports of torture and death at the hands of the Iranian state.
Rapper Salehi – who will be hanged for charges linked to the protests – had vocalised support for the wave of ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ demonstrations, leading to his arrest in October 2022.
Salehi, pictured in one of his music videos, released songs criticising the Iranian regime and demanding greater liberties and women’s rights
Salehi, pictured in one of his music videos, was first arrested in September 2021 after his songs about corruption, poverty, executions and violence against protesters went viral
Salehi, 33, will be hanged for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini (pictured) in police custody in 2022
People gathering next to a burning motorcycle in the capital Tehran on October 8, 2022 amid a wave of unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody a month prior
Following his arrest, Salehi was sentenced last year to six years and three months in prison for ‘corruption on Earth’, but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court found ‘flaws in the original sentence’ and returned the case to a lower court for re-examination.
‘Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of (the central city of) Isfahan in an unprecedented move, did not enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling … and sentenced Salehi to the harshest punishment,’ his lawyer Amir Raisian told Sharq last month.
The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of ‘assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots’, Raisian said.
Iranian judiciary has not confirmed the sentence yet. Salehi has 20 days to appeal the ruling. ‘We will definitely appeal this verdict,’ his lawyer said in April.
Salehi has since alleged torture in prison, according to Iran Wire. The rapper refuted the accusations against him during the trial in March, according to Raisian.
The rapper’s page on Twitter/X, managed by his relatives, said at the time the only just verdict would be his full ‘acquittal and release’.
‘There was no legal and justified citation,’ they claimed.
In a social media post prior to his arrest, Salehi wrote: ‘You should know that I am not afraid of death, imprisonment, and torture. What I fear is to see women sell their bodies out of want and shut my mouth.
‘I am afraid of watching people bend into the trash bin up to their waist [to find food] but remain silent; to see you beat a worker and stay quiet; to witness your killing of a protester and torturing of his justice-seeking family, and shut up… There’s a sea of blood between you and me.’
Salehi was first arrested in September 2021 after his songs about corruption, poverty, executions and violence against protesters went viral.
Saman Yasin, from Kermanshah, who lived in Tehran, was violently arrested at his home in October 2022 and subsequently sentenced to death
Yasin is pictured in October 2022 holding his head in his hands as a judge ordered his execution for supporting protests against Mahsa Amini’s death in Iran. His sentence has since been commuted to five years’ imprisonment
Saman Yasin, a 26-year-old rapper who was arrested in connection to the 2022 demonstrations, also remains in prison.
He was sentenced to death in October 2022 and tried to take his own life two months later because of the ‘harsh conditions’ and ‘torture’ he endures at Rajaei-Shahr prison in Karaj.
He was reportedly placed in solitary confinement and thrown several times from a height, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network has claimed.
Yasin’s sentence has since been commuted to five years’ imprisonment.
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