"Shervin Hajipour's Grammy Award-winning protest anthem."

 

 

     Iranian artist, Shervin Hajipour, never dreamed that his two-and-a-half-minute ballad would be watched on Instagram by more than 60 million viewers. Gathering comments from online tweets, Shervin composed an emotional song about Iranians angry at an oppressive government and desperately yearning for a better life whose children were forced to “pick through the trash in search of their dreams.”

     Just eleven days after the unjust death of Mahsa Amini, Shervin posted a video of himself singing, “Baraye” on Instagram. The video immediately went viral! He was arrested just two days later and forced to remove the popular video and shut down his Instagram account. The 25-year-old singer was summoned to the police station and charged with encouraging riots and acting against national security.

     Despite being arrested and forced to remove the video, his song, “Baraye” refused to die in the hearts of Iranians and people all over the world. “Baraye” soon became an anthem song for worldwide protests and rallies. By October 1, crowds of Iranians around the world in over 200 cities, marched through the streets singing along to the lyrics of the song.

        “But it didn’t stop there!”

     People began calling for Hajipour’s song to be nominated for a Grammy in the “best song for social change,” category. Almost immediately, “Baraye” received 95,000 submissions for a Grammy award, according to the Recording Academy. Shervin had found a profound connection in the hearts of millions of people putting a “face” on the sufferings of Iranians.  Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr, declared in a public statement, “The Academy steadfastly supports freedom of expression and art that’s created to empower communities in need. Because music serves the world, and the Recording Academy exists to serve music.”

     Responding to intense worldwide pressure, Shervin Hajipour was released on bail on October 4, facing charges of spreading propaganda against the regime and encouraging and inciting people to acts of violence. The Islamic Republic of Iran is notorious for squelching freedom of expression in the arts and has in the past imprisoned musicians, film directors, and dancers. Shervin Hajipour is one more example of this regime’s desperate attempt to control the minds of talented musicians who threaten their existence.

     Since “Baraye” was written and sung in Farsi, there was a demand that the song be translated into English so it could enjoy a greater reach among the people. Iranian-American singer, Rana Mansour, composed a popular version in English on YouTube, entitling it, “Woman, Life, Liberty.”

     On February 5, 2023, Shervin's anthem for the "Woman, life, freedom" uprising won a Grammy Award for best song in a "social change category., presented by First Lady, Jill Biden. A few months after receiving the award, He was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for "spreading propaganda against the Iranian regime, and inciting unrest against national security. In addition to the sentence, Hajipour has been ordered to write an anti-US song as punishment for his very popular award-winning anthem that took the world by storm.  Shervin must craft his song about the atrocities committed by the U.S. It is blatantly obvious that this evil regime is seriously jealous of the overwhelming support that his anthem protest song received across the globe. By writing his song, Shervin Hajipour has "put a face" on every suffering Iranian, becoming a powerful voice for their human rights, something that is absolutely forbidden by this dictatorship government!

Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi escapes the death penalty

 "Iranians are living somewhere horrific. You are dealing with a mafia that is prepared to kill an entire nation in order to keep its power, money, and weapons."

     Thirty-three-year-old, Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi, can breathe a sigh of relief. Iran's supreme court has overturned the death sentence, imposed on him back in April, after being charged with "corruption on earth," assistance in sedition, propaganda against the state, and calling for riots. Back in November of 2023, Toomaj had been temporarily released on bail but then was re-arrested two weeks later after producing a video describing his torture in prison.

     Toomaj's fiery lyrics have put him constantly on the "radar screen" of the Iranian government. He is unafraid to speak out and confront the corruption of the Islamic regime. His 2021 breakout hit, "Rat hole," gets in the face of the government, "Forced officer, forced executioner, one who just follows orders, go find a rat hole."

     Toomaj gained his celebrity status and worldwide following by speaking out and supporting the people of Iran during the violent 2022 "Woman, life, freedom" uprising, after the unjust death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was murdered in custody after being arrested on a Hijab violation, accused of showing too much hair. While in solitary confinement, Toomaj was brutally tortured by regime forces, who repeatedly hit him with electric batons and fists in the head, causing him to lose consciousness for 20 days. They also jumped on his stomach and ribs with their boots, breaking his fingers, ribs, and legs.

    My dear friend, Heather Joy, co-author of my book, "Uprising" We Are the Revolution," describes Toomaj in her article as a "truth teller, a voice that cannot be silenced." Heather believes, like I do, that Toomaj has a prophetic calling on his life, a strong leader with a compassionate heart. She describes him as a trailblazer forging a new path towards freedom for the people of Iran with his "in your face" rap lyrics!

    Heather and I meet every Sunday evening and spend up to two hours in prayer for the oppressed people in Iran. We had been storming the heavens in intercessory prayer that God would intervene and cancel his death sentence. This morning, we were overjoyed to discover that our faithful God had answered our prayers. Prior to news of Toomaj's death penalty being overturned, Canadian human rights activist, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, had been successful in persuading the House of Commons to sanction 31 regime officials in the judicial system, that were implicated directly in sentencing Toomaj. The international outrage and rallies in several cities, combined with artists like Sting and Coldplay, calling on the government to stop Toomaj's execution, have all played a significant role in putting pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

     As vitally important as all of the activism behind the scenes is, Heather and I know without a doubt, how the incredible power of prayer has shifted this desperate situation. The Bible declares in James 5:16, that "the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results," (NLT) What an encouraging promise from the Word of God that should motivate every Christian to engage in prayer regularly! The Bible portrays God as being sovereign over all of the evil actions and acts of sinful man. Daniel 2:20 (NLT) says, "He controls the course of world events."

     God is not finished with Toomaj. He has a plan for his life. He stepped in as the sovereign Lord of the universe and canceled his death sentence. While it's true, that Toomaj is certainly not out of the woods, yet one thing is for certain. The government tried but could not silence this truthteller's powerful voice!