Bahraini blogger Esra’a Al Shafei interviews DJ Momo from Saudi Arabia on the potential of MTV Arabia, and they share their view for a better world through music.

Taken from Mideast Youth

Esra’a is right to be skeptical of MTV, which has ultimately killed mainstream music in the West. The videos played on MTV are those with the most marketable imagery. Though a few underground artists may manage to outdo the multi-million dollar production companies by coming up with a brilliant concept every now and then, it’s ultimately the uncreative profit-driven corporations which end up dominating the airwaves with videos of half-naked women, explosions, and shiny objects. Whether the music itself is good is irrelevant.

Esra’a also expresses the frustration she has with older generations who perceive youth culture as something deviant, but that perception is at least partially the fault of MTV as well. As the main representative of the youth, MTV does a further disservice by misrepresenting our culture to those unfamiliar with it. Souljah Boy is no more representative of hip-hop than George W. Bush is representative of America, and woe to anyone guilty by association.

Censorship is also a big problem, especially with genres like rap which are highly-political in origin. Between what the state will allow and what the corporations will allow, freedom of expression on MTV Arabia is destined to be very limited.