Silhouette: Toto’s Grand Response to Moroccan Society, the Media and Double-Standards

ElGrande Toto has never been a “deep” rapper. Up until his mother’s unexpected death last year, the artist mainly came up with feel-good, punchline filled tracks that reflected his flamboyant personality.

Unlike his predecessors, he rarely spoke of the dark sides of Moroccan society. His music largely reflected a trend in commercial rap that glorifies money, booze, and girls – a mirror to his outrageous, juvenile, and naively materialistic ambitions.

“Mghayar,” a single released shortly after his mother passed, was the first insight into the young 26-year-old’s tumultuous mental health struggles.

The title itself gives away the young talent’s quiet torment, solitary in his pain for his lost mother and moral compass – a creative output that strongly resonated with fans.

In the midst of the backlash, Toto kept repeating that what he does, what he raps about, and what he brands is far less dangerous for younger generations than the ailments of Moroccan society and what the media turns a blind eye on.

In his words, the media’s hyper-fixation on his drug consumption on Instagram stories seems to deliberately ignore Morocco’s international position as the top cannabis producer, or how rolling papers are largely available at every drug store in the country.

Poverty, lack of opportunity for youth, unemployment, a fragile social state, and nepotism, Taha regularly called out Moroccan society’s layers of ailments off-stage, and occasionally through his tracks, which have remained overall uplifting and somewhat superficial.

That is until his weight in the public grew, and with it scrutiny became inevitable.

A series of unfortunate events

In late October, Moroccan rap fans collectively held their breaths for a week after the country’s most popular rapper, ElGrande Toto, was remanded in police custody.

Prior to his 48-hour stint in custody, Taha had a turbulent few weeks, starting with a highly publicized press conference, where he truthfully answered journalists’ questions about his recreational -and well-documented- cannabis use.

Later that day, what should have been a milestone in his career as he headlined a state-funded open concert at the Moroccan capital, things took an unexpected turn: Toto’s language, with which fans are familiar, shocked the public.

After Toto made his controversial appearance, to which fans flocked in record numbers, Belgium-based Moroccan journalists lodged a complaint against him, prompting authorities to take him into custody a day after he made a public apology for his comments in a press conference.

“I offer my apologies to anyone offended by my words, starting with authorities and the public,” Toto told the press.

Following his release, and despite this case being an ongoing judicial dispute, the rapper released a new track and accompanying music video, that most view as a direct response to the unprecedented avalanche of controversy that pestered him last month.

Unsung depth in a cloud of hash smoke

In his official response to recent controversies, ElGrande Toto released a song and accompanying music video titled “Silhouette,” where he calls out the hypocrisies in the media’s narrative, following four lives that cross in tragedy.

In a dramatization of his latest press conferences, the rapper bashes journalists’ craze for his personal life and social media presence over his art, while exposing what he deems to be more serious matters that Moroccan youth are quietly suffering from.

A young woman from a conservative family gets pregnant outside of wedlock, from a rich drunk man that denies her and his baby, a young man with a sick mother struggling to support her, and a young child selling tissues on the streets for lack of a better alternative.

In Taha’s eyes, these are the issues that matter, that deserve the outrage he’s been subjected to.

His bars follow other lives that struggle with education devoid of prospects, underprivileged youth that turn to dealing as a last resort, ending up behind bars, addicts who self-medicate, turning to substance use in the absence of mental healthcare, and he, who “works hard, making hits and waiting for no reward from the state.”

In addition to representing others’ pain in Silhouette, the artist also dives into his own mental health struggles, his depression, grief, and the “hustle“ in the absence of support.

But what Toto assures all is that, despite everything going on, he will not change for others. He will keep being him, as fans fell for him, will keep living his life as he pleases and has no scruples about this assertion.

“Call me your Highness”: Toto reclaims crown of Moroccan rap scene

As of this time, Toto has received an overwhelmingly positive response to the track, reflected in the outstanding yet now customary numbers the artist achieves on streaming platforms, namely Spotify and Deezer.

“Silhouette” is currently reigning at the number one spot on both site rankings, while the video accumulated nearly 2 million views on Youtube.

But the artistic response did not seem to get through all, with the National Syndicate of Moroccan Press which accusing the rapper of having verbally assaulted journalists while appearing for a hearing in Casablanca court this week.

This is the latest episode in the series of controversies that have plagued the artist since late September, and resulted in an ongoing judicial battle.

Since his first ascension on the Boulevard stage back in 2017, ElGrande Toto has positioned himself as a domestic, regional, and continental asset in the cultural scene.

Toto’s disagreement with journalist Tijjini originally seemed from the latter questioning whether the rapper should be allowed the “artist“ title, yet another attempt at minimizing the impact, artistry and creativity of rap music in the country.

Toto’s response was true to his personality: rash, spontaneous and short-sighted. But the facts are clear. In only a few years, Taha Fahsi has made a name for himself, becoming one of the most popular creatives in Morocco, and beyond.

The artist was never the center of controversy, his personal life or statement up until now never garnered so much public interest.

However, as his light shines brighter, the social responsibility the public imposes on him grows.

“Silhouette,” a testament to a degree of maturity the public has rarely seen from Toto, maybe the precursor to a different kind of career for the artist, a voice this young Moroccan generation desperately needs.