Background History
Breaking came to Morocco through migratory patterns to and from France and its post-French colonial rule relationship with the Francophone world. In the dissertation I am about to explore, Kendra Renée Salois explains that by the 1980s there were regular cycles of Moroccans who'd live abroad and return for the month of Ramadan or vacations in late July and August. Every summer, cities all over the country grew as families reunited. These families brought many foreign born/raised Moroccan kids back to the country, as well as social capital and many gifts that couldn't be obtained in Morocco. Salois explains that:
In the 1990s and today, young people visiting Moroccan family and friends from abroad also bring musicking skills, attitudes about dress, comportment, and socializing, and an air of authenticity. Nearly all the musickers in their late twenties or early thirties that I interviewed recalled a relative or neighborhood friend introducing them to hip hop. If the musicker’s first contact had not traveled outside the country himself, he or she at least knew that so-and-so’s older brother, uncle, or cousin had brought new tapes from Europe. (Salois 72)
American pop culture and hip hop media had made its way from the U.S. to French popular culture, which then permeated Morocco and inspired a generation of Moroccan youth to become interested and invested through these familial and community networks. When asked what first got him into hip hop, Masta Flow, an emcee and member of a nationally renowned group named Casa Crew, said:
"First was actually Michael Jackson, and doing his steps. Just, after this, all the kids wanted to be b-boys... We would go with our friends to breakdance and I enjoyed hip hop culture” (interview, Fes, June 8 2010). These and other older musickers recall being taught “the Smurf,” a dance trend of the 1980s similar to what is known in the US as “popping,” by their visiting relatives." (Salois 72)
Both of these historical moments are key to understanding the context of this research.
