Iran reiterates: Rap music unwelcome in Islamic Republic

Ministry of Culture and Islamic guidance says Western music is problematic next to traditional Iranian music.

Iranian rapper (photo credit: screenshot)
Iranian rapper
(photo credit: screenshot)
Iranian rap-lovers are in for a disappointment. The spokesman of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic guidance (Ershad), Hussein Noosh- Abbadi recently said that the regime sees "this kind of Western music as a problem for our traditional music."
All public concerts have to be approved by the ministry, and requests must go through a bureaucratic process that can take a few months. "This music encourages wild behavior that could have a detrimental effect on society" Noosh- Abbadi said.
He warned: "We don’t want to have it and we will prevent any unwanted incidents normally associated with such concerts and other events."
For now and in the foreseen future, there is no real possibility that the Islamic regime will permit rap music concerts, in spite of a big underground music scene which includes this genre. In recent years, the Iranian regime arrested many Iranian rap band members and denied permission for concerts.