Written by Zaid Bawab
Singer Mohammed Al Bakri sang a rendition of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley during Jalsat Wanasa. A video of the performance was posted to the youtube channel "Tunes Arabia" last Thursday. For the past few days it has been going viral: it seems like people are enjoying the immortal tune performed by men in thobes.
The comments on the rendition are endless on social media. Some commentators suggested jokingly that the lyrics of the song could have been changed to suit the country's past anti-driving regulations for females.
(source: Twitter - @brosiman)
Twitter user Arno Brosi's suggestion has actually already been made a reality by Saudi artist and social activist Hisham Fageeh (who has recently appeared as the lead in the 2017 film "Baraka Meets Baraka," which is highly critical of the kingdom's social regulations). He collaborated with Jordanian artist Alaa Wardi on creating an acapella version of the song titled "No Woman, No Drive" back in 2013. Driving was still not allowed for women in the Saudi Kingdom then and the video has managed to gather 14.5 million views on Youtube
This is actually not the first time a Khaleeji rendition of the song is performed in "Jalasat Wanasa. " Moroccan singer Jamila performed it in 2013 as an intro for the viral song "Tenni Warwar." The video has already over 32 million views on YouTube. This could also explain why people are obsessed with the new rendition which seems to have become a tradition on the show
