Moqadema
Ahmed Mekky Lyrics

يا ابن المَرَاغَةِ! أيْنَ خَالُكَ؟إنّني
Addressing someone by their tribal name and inquiring as to their relative’s whereabouts.

خالي حُبيشٌ ذو الفَعالِ الأفضَلُ
The singer’s relative is Hubaysh, known for being the most effective and accomplished.

خالي الذي غَصَبَ المُلُوكَ نُفُوسَهمْ
Hubaysh was known for having the power to control the minds of kings.

وإلَيْهِ كَانَ حِبَاءُ جَفْنَةَ يُنْقَلُ
Hubaysh possessed a magical herb that was used to heal blindness.

إنّا لَنَضرِبُ رَأسَ كُلّ قَبِيلَةٍ
The artist and his comrades aim to defeat every rival tribe.

وأَبُوكَ خَلْفَ أتَانِهِ يَتَقَمّلُ
Addressing the addressee’s father, who is out traveling and enjoying the company of camels.

شبه الجزيرة العربية... هو أول مكان في العالم بدأت فيه المبارازات الكلامية
Comparing the Arabian Peninsula, where verbal battles were first pioneered, to other parts of the world.

إتنين شعرا بيتحدوا بعض قدام الناس في السوق
Describing the tradition of two poets facing off in front of an audience in the marketplace.

كل واحد بيرتجل قصيدة بيهجوا فيها خصمه
Each poet improvises a poem to ridicule his opponent.

و اللي كان بيبهر الناس... براعة الشعرا دول و سرعة البديهة و الملكة في إستخدام اللغة
The most impressive thing about these verbal battles was the poets’ mastery of language and quick wit.

حتى إن ربنا سبحانه و تعالى لما نزل عليهم معجزة... نزل القرآن الكريم
When God sent a miracle to these poets, it was in the form of the Quran, which is full of linguistic miracles.

عشان فيه إعجاز لغوي...
Because the Quran has linguistic miracles.

و لما قروه قالوا ان الكلام ده إستحالة يكون فيه انسان كتبه.ده منزل من رب
When the Quran was recited, people were amazed and said that it must have been divinely revealed, as no human could have written such a masterpiece.

و طور العرب الشعر أكتر و أكتر... لدرجة انهم أنشأوا علم إسمه علم العروض
The Arabs continued to develop their poetry to the point where they created a science called ‘ilm al-'arud’ to study poetic meters.

و هو تقسيم الشعر لبحور حسب ايقاع الكلام
This science divides poetry into meters based on the rhythm of the words.

إني إنْصَببتُ مِنَ السمَاءِ عَليكُمُ
The artist claims that he has been poured from the sky onto his enemies.

حَتى إخْتَطَفتُك يا فَرَزدقُ مِن عَلى
He even snatched his enemy, Farazdaq, from a high place.

و اللي ألف ده كان الخليل إبن أحمد الفراهيدي
The author of this poem is Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi.

لما كان ماشي في سوق الحدادين... و سمع إيقاعات طرق السيوف و الحديد.
Al-Farahidi heard the sounds of swords and iron in the blacksmith’s marketplace.

إبتكر موضوع الإيقاع ده
He created the concept of poetic meter based on these sounds.

الأفكار دي وصلت إفريقيا عن طريق التجارة و الأفارقة بطيبيعة ثقافتهم فيها الايقاع و الطبل
These ideas spread to Africa through trade and the presence of people for whom music and rhythm were part of their natural culture.

فقالوا الشعر على إيقاعه موسيقى
In Africa, people began combining poetry and music, using poetic meters as a basis for the rhythm.

و لما كولومبس إكتشف أمريكا أخدوا معاهم كتير من الأفارقة كعبيد
When Columbus discovered America, he brought many Africans as slaves.

و كانوا بيحكوا مشاكلهم و مشاكل الشارع و الحياة على الإيقاع
These African slaves would use music and rhythm to tell stories about their problems with the street and with life in general.

و الفن ده بدأ يظهر... و سموه راب
This art form began to emerge and became known as rap music.

و انتسب لأمريكا
This music form is often attributed to America.

بس هو في الحقيقة... أصله عربي
But in reality, its origins are Arabic.