Rabat – The prominent Moroccan rapper Taha Fahssi (known by his stage name ElGrandeToto) is facing a strong popular backlash for speaking in support of normalizing the use of weed for recreational purposes.
A video has resurfaced of the Casablanca-born and based rapper speaking at a press conference as part of the Rabat African Capital Festival last month, where he said shrugging: “We smoke weed, and so what?!”
The clip is going viral on Moroccan social media platforms, and many commenters have slammed the rapper’s comments as deeply offensive.
“We don’t go very far to get weed, it’s just around the corner,” the rapper said at the festival, adding that weed-producing regions are only “300 kilometers away.”
He stressed in a nonchalant tone: “It is known worldwide that Morocco is the birthplace of weed, and people from all over the world come to Morocco to smoke weed.”
As ElGrandeToto made the remarks at a continental cultural event that sought to promote Morocco’s capital as an incubator of culture and art, many critics have described the rapper’s statement as a disgrace to Moroccan culture.
Echoing the critics who labeled the rapper’s statement as disgraceful, some social media users appeared to suggest that the consumption of weed is un-Moroccan and that supporting its normalization is a stain on Morocco’s reputation.
The Moroccan social activist Abd Alali Rami wrote on his official Facebook page: “How could we respond to this artist, who said such things during an official press conference at the Rabat African Capital Festival…”
In the post, Rami further called for the Moroccan police force, and public attorney office to intervene; he also blamed the culture and communication ministry for inviting the rapper to participate in the Rabat African Capital Festival as a representative of Morocco’s cultural scene.
“As far as we know, weed is forbidden by law, while he — the rapper — publicly admits to national media that it is a normal thing,” Rami fumed.
This is not the first time that ElGrandeToto has been at the center of debate for his pro-weed stance. The rapper is popular for the YouTube videos he frequently makes with other Moroccan bloggers where he often rolls joints and smokes them on camera.
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