Media Type:

Songs


Title

"Balaha" by singer Ramy Essam
أغنية "بلحة" لرامي عصام

Subject

Song

Description

This satirical song was released in February 2018, criticising the 4-year rule of President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, telling him that 'enough is enough'. Sisi is referred to as "balaha", which literally means 'date' (as in the fruit) but also refers to the name of a character in a famous Egyptian film of the 1980s. The character, played by actor Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, was committed to a psychiatric hospital because he suffered from a mental disorder and illusions of grandeur.
Ramy Essam shot to fame during the 18 days of the Tahrir Square sit-in in 2011, with his song 'Irhal' ('Leave'). Following the military coup of 2013, Essam was forced to leave Egypt.
Seven Egyptians were arrested for their association or perceived association with the song, accused of spreading false news and joining a terrorist organization. They included the writer of the song's lyrics (Galal El Behairy), the video director (Shady Habash) and even a former band member, Ramy Sidky, who did not even contribute to the song. Shady Habash died in prison on 1 May 2020.

Creator

Ramy Essam

Publisher

YouTube

Date Published

Contributor

    Directed by Shady Habash, Lyrics by Galal El Behairy

Rights

Standard YouTube Licence

Language

Arabic/English

Date Created

26/02/2018

Citation

Ramy Essam, “"Balaha" by singer Ramy Essam,” Politics, Popular Culture and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, accessed December 13, 2024, https://egyptrevolution2011.ac.uk/items/show/17.

Output Formats


Media

RamyEssam.jpg

Duration

4.43 min.

Player