Travis Scott Vs the Musicians Syndicate in Egypt: The gates of conspiracy theories hell are open already

Earlier this Tuesday, Egypt made headlines on social media, but for all the wrong reasons, as usual. Egypt's Musicians Syndicate announced the cancellation of the permit for a concert featuring the renowned American rapper Travis Scott scheduled for late July. 

In case you're not aware, Travis Scott had planned a massive concert at the Pyramids plateau to launch his highly anticipated album "Utopia" on July 28. Official tickets for this much-awaited event have already been sold.

 Interestingly, tickets are being resold on the black market for a staggering price of at least LE 6,000! It is already a 1% concert. Jokes have been shared that the roofs of Nazlat El-Saman's houses beside the pyramids will be rented for the fans who can't afford the tickets. 

Although I'm not a fan of Scott's music, it appears that he has gained popularity among the younger generation, who believe this concert to be the pinnacle of Egypt's music scene in 2023.

Travis Scott vs Mustafa Kamel is the fight 
nobody expected. 

Egypt's Musicians Syndicate, led by the singer/composer Mustafa Kamel, has withdrawn the permit, citing that the concert "contradicts the identity of Egyptian culture." This decision comes in the wake of a huge social media campaign in Egypt, involving various groups of people who believe that this concert has no place in our country.

 Among these groups are the nationalists, known as the "Kemitists," who argue that Scott, as a black Afrocentric American, not only appropriates our ancient history but also attempts to rewrite it by claiming that Ancient Egypt was built solely by Black Africans.

Additionally, conspiracy theorists believe that Travis Scott is a satanic Freemason who intends to open a gateway to hell at the Great Pyramid of Giza. 

They further assert that he plans to offer a "sacrifice" to Satan during his concert! Egyptian conspiracy theorists heavily rely on their American counterparts, who propagated theories after the fatal stampede during Travis Scott's 2021 "Astroworld" concert in Texas. In that incident, ten people lost their lives, and over 300 were injured. Personally, I first heard of Travis Scott through news reports covering that tragedy.

US conspiracy theorists claimed that the Astroworld stampede victims were sacrificed to Satan by Scott in exchange for his success. Although the main TikTok video promoting this theory was removed from the Chinese-owned platform, the damage was already done, and the conspiracy theory machine kept churning out new videos attacking him.

Scott's choice to perform at the Pyramids' plateau has given conspiracy theorists worldwide more fodder to reproduce these theories due to the symbolic significance of the pyramid shape in Freemasonry, also known as the "Eye of Providence."

Furthermore, there are conservative Muslims and Christians in Egypt who reject the rap culture altogether, and they too have joined forces with the groups mentioned above over the past two weeks. Their viral posts on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and your family's WhatsApp group have added to the mounting pressure.

Lawyers seeking attention and publicity have filed lawsuits to cancel the concert. Suddenly, the Musicians Syndicate releases a statement claiming they revoked the permit. 

The syndicate's board claims to have based its decision on social media users' opinions and the widespread coverage of alleged strange rituals performed by the star during his concerts. It's quite interesting that the syndicate granted the permit without conducting a proper background check on the artist, solely relying on information from social media! 

This highlights the unprofessionalism of the Musicians Syndicate as an organization. Kamel is insulting the syndicate and its long history with that statement in the first place !! 

For the record, there are even more Egyptian social media users who welcomed the concert, especially from young generations who are actually waiting for the big launch of the Utopia album.  

Mostafa Kamel in the white suit and the young Egyptians mocking him 
calling him the "Conquerer of Masons" 

Personally, I believe that Mustafa Kamel is attempting to gain support from the conservative Egyptian public after facing criticism over the past two weeks for neglecting the former head of the syndicate, the popular singer Iman El-Bahr Darwish, who is currently battling a serious illness. 

This is like the latest controversy for Kamel whom I do not know how he ended up occupying a position that was once occupied by Um Kalthoum.

When I first heard about Travis Scott's concert, my immediate concern was how the organization of such a massive event at the Pyramids would be handled, considering what transpired during his infamous 2021 concert in Texas. Theatrics aside, my primary concern is to ensure that a crowd crush, like the one that occurred previously, does not happen in Egypt again.

As someone who's been around long enough, I'm aware that rappers in the United States are often associated with Illuminati affiliations. Some artists deliberately use occult symbols to create controversy and keep their names in the media. 

However, I also understand that the lyrics of certain rap songs can be troubling. Nevertheless, rap fans in Egypt are not Satanists; they are normal people who simply enjoy music.

Moreover, I strongly believe that we need more international artists to include Egypt in their musical tours, as it benefits tourism and our struggling economy.

Lastly, I am tired of those who claim to protect the so-called identity of Egyptian culture. I've grown weary of how this vague concept is utilized or misused to suppress society.

One thing is sure: Travis Scott has opened the gates to expose the ignorance of the current Musicians Syndicate and its leader Mostafa Kamel.

Another thing: Enough of conspiracy theories, someone may get hurt eventually because of conspiracy theories. 

By the way, the concert has not been cancelled officially after all that noise made by Mostafa Kamel. It turned out that the security authorities are the ones who have this power and it seems that they are okay with opening the gates of hell at the Great Pyramid after all !!