Giza Mafia Disco Birthday

I always do my best to have a memorable birthday. Middle age has thus far represented a pinnacle of sorts. Knowing in advance that I would turn 48 in Cairo, I began my research early. Cairo is not known for its parties. Like most Muslim majority nations, alcohol and marijuana are stigmatized, though widely consumed. Men dancing with women in public is scandalous. Secular music of any kind is a rarity. Egyptians get their kicks at weddings, where all bets are off in terms of booze, drugs, and dance (though women and men still sit in separate sections). More adventurous citizens — almost exclusively men — frequent small bars in the city that keep a low profile, often tolerating open smoking of hash and weed. Live entertainment in a place like this follows a format unfamiliar to audiences from Christendom. The central figure is a sharp-dressed gentleman who sings and performs a role analogous to that of an MC, by both the formal and musical definitions of the term. Think of a toaster at a dub soundclash, if that means anything to you; but he’s also like a cheap lounge singer at a Nevada casino. The music — usually pre-recorded but occasionally performed by a keyboard player, even a full band at the big venues — is called Shaabi, and it’s been the dominant form of party music in Egypt since before the invention of the synthesizer. Shaabi originated in the 1920s. It’s the only example of working class secular music I’d heard…