Urban Mawawil
Mawwal is a form of narrative ballad that has links to historical forms of Arabic song and poetry. The singer demonstrates his or her skill with non-metrical melodic improvisation on a poetic narrative text and melody.
"Urban" Mawwal is what happened to rural music and songs when they came to the city. While keeping the basic form of the "baladi" or earthy spirit of the mawwal and the taqtouqa ("light" song), they underwent some changes. For example, the beat and groove became stronger and more intense and, with regard to instrumentation, the saxophone and trumpet replaced the arghoul.
However, the rural roots of this music have hindered its success. For example, although singers Ahmed Adaweya, Abdou El Iskandarany ("Master of Mawwal"), Badria El Sayed and El Sheikh Amin were hugely popular starting in the late 60's, their songs created controversy among critics, some praising them and others dismissing them as "shaaby" or "folksy". Until today, critics tend to ignore this music, preferring to focus on the media pop stars and songs.
Nevertheless, in spite of the critics' opinions, shaaby and baladi music flourishes and can be heard at popular weddings and nightclubs. We even find that some pop stars have adapted and integrated urban mawwal into their media pop songs.
