Today I have chosen a few songs from Libya, as well as some really informed articles written by people with a far greater knowledge of Libya than I have. These include links to other songs too. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for artists to make music under the Gaddafi regime, knowing that you could be taken away and tortured for being critical of the government.
General information from Wikipedia about Libyan music here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Libya
Comprehensive and knowledgeable history of Libyan music by poet and University lecturer Khaled Mattawa here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/05/28/libyas-explosive-music-revolution-ibn-thait-and-more.html
Article by Alaa Badi entitled ’10 Libyan songs to kick back and listen to’: http://stepfeed.com/10-libyan-songs-to-kick-back-and-listen-to-7610
Ahmed Fakroun – Soleil Soleil
Salah Ghaly – Eftekhry Inik Leibya (صلاح غالى افتخرى انك ليبيه)
Ibn Thabit – Western Mountains
Every article I have seen about Libyan music mentions Ibn Thabit, so I felt I should most definitely include him. A hugely political artist, he wrote lyrics that were anti-Gaddafi and called for his government to be overthrown. For obvious reasons, he used a pseudonym: Hassan Ibn Thabit was the favorite poet of the Prophet Muhammad (عليه السلام), nicely highlighting the link between poetry and rap.
Fantastic article written by Sean O’Keefe here, about the retirement of Ibn Thabit: http://revolutionaryarabrap.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/ibn-thabit-libyas-leading-rapper.html, and he has also set out the lyrics to ‘Western Mountains’, in Arabic and English, here: http://revolutionaryarabraptheindex.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/ibn-thabit-ft-salah-ghaly-western.html
djesperanto 