Gnawi

Mohamed Mounir was born in the coastal city of Salé in North-western Morocco and grew up there. In 2008,[3] he started to rap with the band Larmy Sla (Army of Salé). The name of the band was inspired from the period Mounir spent at the Moroccan army as a serviceman.[4]

After a while, Mounir decided to pursue his career as a solo-rapper and released many singles in this quality. In 29 October 2019, he released together with Yahya Semlali (Lz3er) and Youssef Mahyout (Weld L'Griya) the track 3acha cha3b (Long Live the People) which was seen by 16 million people in its first month. The song criticizes the Moroccan authorities and indirectly makes a derogatory reference to the Moroccan King.[5]

Two days after the release of 3acha cha3b song, on 1 November 2019 Gnawi was arrested and sentenced to one year of prison for "insulting the police". Police say the charges are unrelated to the song, pointing out the other two rappers involved have not been arrested. "This trial has nothing to do with freedom of expression. This is a penal code matter," police lawyer Abdelfattah Yatribi said in court.[6]

However, the organization Amnesty International sees that "The verdict is disgraceful, and there can be no justification for imprisoning the Moroccan rapper Gnawi for a year simply because he exercised his right to freedom of expression. Expressing peaceful criticism of the police or the authorities is not a crime. International law protects the right to freedom of expression – even when the opinions shared are shocking or offensive. This verdict sends a clear message that the Moroccan authorities will not hesitate to clamp down on people who freely speak their minds and indicates that those who dare to openly criticize the authorities will face punishment."[7]

• "Chti Dib" – Did you see the wolf? (May 2017)
• "Ta7arouch" – Harassment (December 2018)
• "3acha cha3b" – Long Live the People (With Lz3er and Weld L'Griya) (October 2019)