Dropping Beats, Casting Ballots: Music & Messaging in Iranian Politics

Why would an Iranian rapper, who has sung dozens of songs about girls and partying, support conservative presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi, whose views oppose everything the rapper stands for?

by Nahid Siamdoust

One would normally not think of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a country where a rapper’s endorsement makes a difference in elections. But when the tattooed rapper Amir Tataloo declared, this week, that he would vote for Ebrahim Raisi, the conservative challenger to the current President Hassan Rouhani, it caused major ripples on Iran…