Religion and Moroccan Rap: An Artistic Journey in the Song "D'afterlife"
Moroccan rap, which often focuses on social and political issues, has also become a platform for philosophical and religious questioning. The song “D’afterlife” by rapper Zeronin, released on March 11, 2018, is a prime example of this. This song doesn’t aim to provide answers; instead, it’s like a “notebook” of existential questions that the rapper posed during a period of doubt.
The title itself is a wordplay between “The After Life” and “Dafter Life” (in Arabic, the “notebook of life”), suggesting that a person must first understand the life they’re living before questioning the afterlife.
A Journey Through "D'afterlife" in Words and Symbols
Lyrics: The song “D’afterlife” was written during a period of doubt and existential questions, the rapper expressed. The inspiration also came from a sample by Rim Banna and lyrics from the poetry of Ibn Al-Farid, which also deals with the same theme of addressing God. When the track was being written, it didn’t have an exact structure. It was written without a linear narrative, which is why the references are so numerous and varied.
Cover Art: The cover art depicts a person’s journey in the “Barzakh” (the intermediate state between death and resurrection). The central figure appears lost between heaven and earth, between life and the hereafter. Their presence in a desert further emphasizes this feeling of being lost.
WATCH Zeronin – D’AFTERLIFE | دَ’فترلايف (Official Audio)
Analysis of Key Verses and Their Timestamps
The song is filled with symbolism and questions directed at the listener.
Verse 1 (0:57) : “He’s struggling, he threw his mother in court, left her crooked and lost / He heard ‘paradise is under her feet,’ so he pushed her and brought a pickaxe to dig.”
Here, Zeronin points to a misguided understanding of religion that can lead people to do wrong. He gives an example of someone who took the Hadith, “Paradise is under the feet of mothers,” literally and wrongly, instead of understanding its true meaning, which is about respect and reverence for one’s mother.
1:23: “Even if you’re clean, if you pour, they’ll choke you / They’re dressed in white but their hearts are black, they look like the Ku Klux Klan.”
This line contains a powerful comparison between some religious scholars (known to wear white) and the racist Ku Klux Klan organization, whose members wear white robes. Zeronin shows how religion can sometimes extinguish a person’s humanity, causing them to classify people based on beliefs and develop a black heart despite their pure external appearance.
1:27: “Why are you tracing the path of religion? Did you not draw it yourself?”
Here, Zeronin uses personification to speak directly to “traders of religion” who manipulate religious concepts for their own benefit. He questions whether they are the ones who drew the true path of religion, since they misguide people and hide the truth from them to prevent them from straying.
1:33: “If Iblis (Satan) never visited your home, it’s because he’s afraid of you, my brother.”
Iblis is the symbol of evil in Abrahamic religions. This verse suggests the degree of evil and wickedness in some people (like the religious traders), so much so that Iblis himself would be afraid to visit or tempt them.
1:44: “Two black eyes in your head are more dangerous than an eye in a pyramid.”
This line is a clear reference, suggesting that a person whose thoughts are unknown is much more dangerous than the “Illuminati” organization, whose logo is an “eye in a pyramid” and which some people accuse of being evil.
2:09: “I’ve confined La Liberté to just a pen / We won’t advance as long as we only narrate what was said.”
Zeronin expresses the idea that progress will not happen as long as we only follow what was said after “God said” or “the Prophet said.” He doesn’t deny these references but believes we must also rely on science and critical thinking to move forward.
2:25: “…I know You’re watching us, be gentle with us, we live like a phoenix…”
Here, the rapper speaks directly to the Creator (God), comparing human suffering in life to the myth of the “Phoenix,” which dies and is reborn from its ashes. This metaphor illustrates the struggles a person endures despite the existence of an all-powerful God.
2:30: “This is not music, nor is it even prayer or surahs.”
2:35: “These are just lines from a human who refused to end up as an idol.”
2:37: “He wants to know if he’s living in a struggle to slip on a path.”
At the end of the song, Zeronin clarifies that these words are not ordinary music, nor are they sacred like prayer or surahs. These are merely the questions of a “human” who refuses to blindly follow societal ideas. He wants to find meaning in the struggle he’s living so he can cross the “Sirat” (the bridge over hell) on which people are judged.
This song demonstrates that rap can be a tool for expressing the deepest questions a person can ask, and it makes us think about the complex relationship between art and religion.
WATCH Zeronin – REBORN – ريبورن (FULL EP) | Reborn is an alternative rap EP that established Zeronin’s unique musical universe, defined by melancholic melodies and a distinctive lyrical style central to his identity.
Conclusion: Moroccan Rap as a Platform for Spiritual Inquiry
Rap and religion may seem like two completely separate worlds, but they are deeply intertwined, particularly in religious societies like Morocco. The article shows that rap can be a powerful medium for exploring profound, and often difficult, existential and religious questions. The artist Zeronin, as an example, doesn’t use his music to provide answers but rather to engage in a public and artistic “notebook” of his doubts and reflections.
The song “D’afterlife” highlights the complex relationship between faith, human nature, and societal interpretation of religion. It critiques religious hypocrisy, the commercialization of faith, and the literal-mindedness that can lead people astray from a deeper, more humane spirituality.
Ultimately, Zeronin suggests that rap, far from being anti-religious, can serve as a space for spiritual inquiry. It allows artists to express a raw, unfiltered perspective on faith, not as a rigid set of rules, but as a lived, often contradictory, human experience. This makes rap a vital tool for dialogue and self-reflection, proving that it can handle the most complex of topics with both creativity and emotional honesty.
