AJDABIYAH: Libyan rebel fighter Jaad Jumaa Hashmi cranks up the volume on his pickup truck's stereo when he heads into battle against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. A musician himself, he looks for inspiration from a growing cadre of amateur rappers whose powerful songs have helped define the revolution. The music captures the anger and frustration young Libyans feel at decades of repressive rule under Gaddafi, driving the 27-year-old Hashmi forward even though the heavy machine gun bolted on the back of his truck are no match for Gaddafi's heavy artillery. “It captures the youths' quest for freedom and a decent life and gives us motivation,” Hashmi said. “Muammar, get out, get out, game over! I'm a big, big soldier!” sang 20-year-old Milad Faraway, who started Music Masters with his friend and neighbor, 22-year-old Mohammad Madani, at the end of 2010. Rather than grabbing AK-47s and heading to the front line with other rebels to fight Gaddafi's forces, Faraway and Madani stayed in Benghazi, the de facto capital of rebel-held eastern Libya, and picked up a microphone. “Everyone has his own way of fighting, and my weapon is art,” said Faraway. Roughly a dozen rap songs recorded since the start of the rebellion have been put on CDs with rebel-inspired album covers and are available for sale in downtown Benghazi. One cover has a drawing of fighters on a captured Gaddafi tank flying the rebel flag.
