Popular urban music in Morocco

                 ♡ MUSIC IN MOROCCO ♡

                                   Bigg:

 Taoufiq Hazeb better known by his stage name Bigg and Alkhaser is a Moroccan rapper from Casablanca who has born in 1983. Bigg studied Law in the Hassan II University in Mohammedia. He is considered one of the pioneers of Moroccan rap, mainly for his aggressive style and for his songs' themes, which express problems common among Moroccans. As a child Bigg was amazed by the American musical culture. He was highly interested in what was at that time east-coast west coast rap war. This influenced his choice of his stage name. First, he went by the name Bigg in reference to the Notorious B.I.G who was at that time the star of Bad Boy records. Even the last group he was in was called Mafia C which is a literal copy of Notorious B.I.G protégée. To satisfy his ego, he added another stage name to his existing one called The Done. This is a clear reference to Makaveli the Don which was the last name Tupac Shakur chose for his last Album: The 7 Day Theory. 

Bigg began his real musical career at age 14. With two friends he created a rap group called "Thug Gang". At the age of 16, he performed for the first time, with his group, in the Sidi Belyout theatre in Casablanca. He then joined the group Cash Money, then X-Side. While he was rapping in English like most of other rappers, he had an idea to rap in Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija. He turned his idea into reality by creating a group called "Mafia-C", which participated to the Boulevard des Jeunes Musiciens festival in 2001 which was a total success after the group won "the best rap group" award. 

Having failed to get recognized by the Moroccan authorities as an artist, he tried to flea the country illegally. He was caught in Malaga and sent back home after he had spent two weeks in Spanish detention. Once Bigg returned to Morocco, he focused all his efforts on solo. The group work was not rewarding financially therefore Bigg finally decided to quit the group and to start on a solo career. He participated in the Casablanca Festival in 2006. On April 2007, Bigg was featuredd on TV for the first time at Al Aoula channel, in Al Aoula Show. Morocco Street Life is the title of the first documentary Bigg is featured within; one devoted to the Moroccan scene hip-hop, carried out by Dj Key, and one of the precursors of its kind.

By: Claudia Gómez