A performance of French rapper Kaaris in Tangier has been abruptly called off following a boycott movement that gained significant traction over lyrics that offend Moroccan women.
The event, scheduled for June 24 at the renowned “Bling Bling” nightclub, has been officially postponed, as revealed by a conversation shared on Twitter by user @Tarik_Talk with the club’s owner.
In a series of Instagram stories, nightclub owner Chakir, also known as “Bling Bling,” publicly disclosed the cancellation and expressed gratitude towards Tarik for alerting him to the controversial lyrics previously sung by the rapper, particularly those that demeaned Moroccan women.
The lyrics in question originated from Kaaris’ 2010 remix of Rick Ross’ Mafia Music, which employed degrading language when referring to Moroccan women.
This controversy was preceded by another involving French rapper Booba, who was supposed to perform in Casablanca’s Mohammed V stadium on June 21 but was eventually dropped due to a fierce campaign calling for the show’s cancellation, for the same reason.
The club owner said, “We are Moroccan men, we can’t accept anyone belittling our country, women or men.”
Under Tarik Talk’s Twitter post, comments applauded the” successful” boycott campaign, however many called for holding the club accountable despite the cancelation, and encouraged leaving negative reviews on the club’s pages.
When the boycott campaign first emerged, Kaaris took to Instagram to defend himself.
In a lengthy, now-deleted post, the rapper wrote “Moroccan men are my brothers and my dads. Moroccan women are my sisters and my moms.”
The rapper hasn’t publicly commented on the cancelation, yet.
We are Moroccan men, we won’t accept anyone belittling our country, women or men.