The members of Kachela are the representatives of the hiphop scene in Tanger. They are known throughout Morocco and even enjoy international fame. On their own accord they sing not to become famous, but to let the heart speak. Their music is a way to criticize the political system, the social inequalities in Morocco and they rap about the way the Islam is cornered by the international community. They rap about all their concerns.

We were already waiting for some time in a courtyard when Samir shows up. Samir is one of the ‘soldiers' of Kachela (caserne) as they call themselves. "We don't aim with guns, we shoot with words". Kachela rents the basement in an apartment complex.  Before we enter the basement Samir connects the electricity wires outside the main port. The basement is still under construction and electricity is not yet available, so for now they ‘borrow' power. One by one the members of Kachela come down into the basement. The basement is empty and the sitting room is placed around one light bulb, we are in the underground. Kachela is formed by 9 young men, who know each other for years. Rap is the one passion that they all have in common. The members perform in different formations. There is Zanka Flow (street talk) formed by Muslim and Larbi, Arab Souljas formed by Mojahid and Arbi, and the others are La-N, Moro, Islamic Gun and Mojrim. The manager of all soldiers is Thug Face, an informatics student.

Besides rap the members of Kachela have their own daily duties, some work, some study. Every month they put money together to continue the construction in the basement. "We are rich, but don't have much money". Unfortunately in Tanger there is no financial support for cultural initiatives by the city council.

During our visit several subjects are discussed. Some of the members have been traveling throughout Europe. They've been to Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Mohammed tells us about his experiences and the prejudices against Moroccans he came across. "We traveled together for weeks before my Belgium friend found out I was Moroccan. He was astonished! He really thought that in Morocco all men have beards, only wear the jellaba and ride around on donkeys!"

Another subject that bothers the crew is the changing attitude in the world towards the Islam. "Islam means peace, we are not aggressive, we do not want a war. Look I smoke, don't have a long beard and wear normal cloths and I am a muslin."  At the moment people in the Arabic world get stereotyped, and this image is far from positive. The men of Kachela notice that various media in the world are spreading fear towards Islamic people, which is incorrect on their part. 

Kachela raps in Arabic and after a little hint from us they jump up to sing. World2xPress got used in their rap, but it is obvious difficult to put the long English word into an Arabic song. Also the boys who kept silence during the interview are enthusiastically rapping now, rap is their thing, rap is their way to express themselves.

The plans of Kachela for the basement are to realize a studio and a break-dance room. A studio where they will record their songs, write their lyrics and will give young rappers the opportunity to develop their skills. The crew of Kachela has a lot of work a head of them, the basement is still empty, but with their enthusiasm the studio appears in front of our eyes. Kachela is on their way, with their enthusiasm and their will, the financial means are bound to come...

Kachela - Jib Le'ez Wlla K'hez   

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The article has also been translated into French and can be read on Kachela's SkyBlog.

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