WALITILI, TUNISIAN'S UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP CULTURE

Since the 2011 revolution, young people have opened up to new fashions from abroad. Hip-hop, an urban movement born on the sidewalks of New York City in the late 1970s, is now being propelled into the streets of Tunis. Young Tunisian undergrounds are thus proposing a reinterpretation of hip-hop codes at the crossroads between what they see in American video clips and their reality.
Hip-hop culture, which arrived in Tunisia at the beginning of the 1990s, is today spreading with energy and passion to a Tunisian youth in search of identity. Hip-hop is not only an alternative musical genre, it is a subculture in its own right. The demands expressed by African-American rappers are transforming the minds of hundreds of young Tunisians, who recognize themselves in their stories and identify with the messages they defend.
These young Tunisian undergrounds then create bridges between what they see in the American clips and their reality. Unable to afford to buy their idols' branded clothes, they regularly go to the local thrift stores to find good deals. These young artists develop a singular style by reappropriating the caps, jackets and other jeans found in this vast second-hand market.
Hip-hop culture, which is still in a state of flux, feeds on these experiences of crossbreeding for which Tunisia is a pioneer in the Arab world. Walitili, literally "in the making" presents a series of portraits of these young actors of this movement.

Produced on January, 2017 in Tunis, Tunisia.