Dhaka, Bangladesh — On July 16, 2024, as security forces launched a brutal crackdown on student protesters campaigning against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian government, Bangladeshi rapper Massrur Jahan Alif — popularly known as Shezan — released a song.Titled Kotha Ko (speak up in Bangla), the song asked: “The country says it’s free, then where’s your roar?”
It was the day that Abu Sayed, a protester, was killed, becoming the face of the campaign to depose Hasina after 15 years in power. Sayed’s death fuelled the public anger that led to intensified protests. And Shezan’s Kotha Ko, along with a song by another rapper, Hannan Hossain Shimul, became anthems for that movement, culminating in Hasina fleeing Bangladesh for India in August.
Fast forward a year, and Shezan recently released another hit rap track. In Huddai Hutashe, he raps about how “thieves” are being garlanded with flowers – a reference, he said, to unqualified individuals seizing important positions in post-Hasina Bangladesh.
As the country marks the anniversary of the uprising against Hasina, protest tools that played a key role in galvanising support against the former leader have become part of mainstream Bangladeshi politics.
Rap, social media memes and graffiti are now also a part of the arsenal o …
