And now another installment in my ongoing work to ensure that the highlights of contemporary Arabic culture get a wider airing, confounding pretty much every stereotype you might have about conservatism, veils, and general prudery.
Here we have a current hit throughout the region, "Behibou Huwa," (either "I Love Him" or "I Love It," depending on how you decide to take the lyric, which is double-entendre throughout) from an artist named - are you sitting down? - Miss Pussy Samir, an Egyptian dancer turned singing sensation.
Oh, they spell it "Boosy" most of the time, but that's only because, especially in Egyptian Arabic, "p" (which doesn't technically exist in Arabic) and "b" are interchangeable (which is why, by the bye, Cairo is chockablock with "No Barking" signs). It's definitely Pussy (and won't it be interesting to see what repeating that name does to my page count? Pussy, Pussy, Pussy. Samir.).
As you will see, the song's video portrays the sweet story of a young girl and her kindness to an older gentleman in red satin pajamas. I've decided that it's more or less the "Love to Love You Baby" of the East. Enjoy.
And, of course, Muscato, let's point out to your gentle readers that Bussy is a common nickname for the female name Basma.
ReplyDeleteBussy is also a colloquial diminutive for "boosa" (kiss).
Oh, I know - but in Egypt, even with the nickname cover, it's a very popular name for dancers and other scandalous types, at least in part because of its naughty connotations...
ReplyDelete"No Barking"! Not bloody likely. My only hope for resisting the sudden urge to redecorate the apartment in heliotrope and magenta is to rip off all my clothes and proclaim from our balcony my conversion to Mormon!
ReplyDeleteThe scheming Arabs cannot bear our Western supremacy, and must have a Jennifer Coolidge of their own! Dubya would've complained!!!!
Naughty and Cairo???? Umm ed-dunya??? Noooooooooo. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd how many scandalous types there are...at least in the places I usually wound up hanging out at!
Ah, the sensuality, the eroticism of the music. I once owned (now lost and out of print) a copy of "Eros in Arabia." Phenomenal mood music. More, Muscato, more.
ReplyDelete