Photo Credit: Shervin Hajipour Instagram
Iranian pop singer Shervin Hajipour is generating Grammy buzz. The singer was arrested by the Iranian government for supporting protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
Shervin Hajipour’s song “Baraye” managed to rack up 40 million streams on Instagram before it was deleted. Baraye is the Persian word ‘Because’ and is composed of tweets about the protests and highlighting the longings people have for things in Iran. Many of the tweets highlight the hardships everyday Iranians face. The song plays loudly in apartment blocks in Iran to show support for the protests that sparked on September 16–when morality police murdered Mahsa Amini for breaking hijab rules.
“This is the image & voice of the new Iran! Highschool girls singing #ShervinHajipour’s song without hijab. The song that has been written based on tweets for #MahsaAmini’s protest, mentioning the reasons for the uprising and has become the anthem of #IranRevolution,” reads one tweet with a picture of women singing the song.
Now the song is generating Grammy buzz for consideration in the “Best Song for Social Change” category.
“Shervin Hajipour is a young Iranian musician, who wrote a song called “Baraye (Because Of)” in response to the unjust killing of Mahsa Amini and against the oppressive Iranian government,” the Grammy submission form says. “The song is also in support of recent uprisings started in Iran that have spread around the world.”
The lyrics tell the story of who these protests are for ‘because of students and their future, because of our sisters’ etc. The song gained 40 million views in 48 hours and was used by Iranians all over the world as a rallying cry – it has become the anthem for the movement. He was arrested in Iran and is currently imprisoned for the crime of writing this song. His original video was taken down, but the song lives on as part of the movement for freedom in Iran.”