Lebanese hip-hop

Lebanese Hip Hop is a pioneering movement in Arabic hip hop as Lebanese youth were among the first to be affected by hip hop culture. Arabic hip hop has received Western media attention, but most Lebanese rappers think that there is still a lack of local interest in their music. Hip hop in Lebanon is both an art form and a stage for artists to voice their alternative discourse in the public sphere.

In 2001 Erhab records label introduced gangster rap to the Lebanese hiphop scene. The label established a recording studio in 2008 in Lebanon's central prison Roumieh Prison, They released many singles and albums featuring inmates.

In the early 2010s, most underground Lebanese rap was distributed through platforms like ReverbNation and SoundCloud, limiting mainstream access. By the late 2010s, artists began transitioning toward YouTube to reach broader and younger audiences. One of the key figures in this shift was Anthony Samarany, who consistently released visually striking and lyrically provocative tracks directly to YouTube. His work helped shift the attention of Lebanese hip-hop fans from niche platforms to more algorithm-driven spaces, contributing to the genre’s increasing visibility and chart presence online.