Sure, he did not write the music, not did he write the lyrics--he did take credit for adding a verse to his most popular song. Raise The Kuffyah....may have won him the title, and the hearts of many admirers of his and the just cause of his people. But now the cat is out of the bag, and the original song that inspired that hit song is actually an Iraqi song released in 2002 to celebrate the late Saddam Hussein.
This does not take away anything from Mohammed Assaf, the talented singer with a million dollar smile and a billion dollar personality. But it does raise questions about intellectual property rights, an issues even in the biggest countries like the United States. Theft, lifting, homage are all loose terms. But it seems once again, an Arab artists get inspired by an Iraqi song and call it his own. But to be frank, that song may not be the first song to sound like that--it might be from the Iraqi folklore--it's chobi melody and beat. Perhaps this goes to tell one thing, we are all Arabs and we like the same thing.
There similarities in the lyrics--especially the one about the machine gun. Assaf has recorded this son in 2007, and it has become his shot to fame locally. In 2013 he would take Arabic by storm when he performed that song in the competition of Arab Idol. Assaf has many good songs, and the more time passes, he will put his voice on worthy songs. This might be a small hiccup in his otherwise blooming career.
Assaf is busy right now recording songs to be released on his debut album, he is in the United Arab Emirates, where he works most of them time. As for the singer who did the Iraqi version in 2002, he now resides Egypt where it used to be way safer than Baghdad.
علي الكوفية الاغنيه الفلسطينيه الاشهر طلعت مسروقه
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