Despite the unrest, apathy will be the deciding factor in Iran’s presidential election
The 2017 election and subsequent protests — by pro-democracy students (above) and Islamist hardliners alike — is a prelude to tomorrow's poll, with 2017's runner-up Ebrahim Raisi tipped to win. Picture: AP Photo
Rap and K-pop aren’t music genres you’d expect an Iranian presidential hopeful to be familiar with. And yet, during the second televised debate ahead of the countrywide poll on Friday, one of the candidates displayed an impressive knowledge of the contemporary musical landscape.
“They play rap on their own programmes, but they have banned rap,” said centrist Abdolnaser Hemmati, the former governor of the Central Bank of Iran. "Our teens have moved on to K-pop — Korean pop. Our own rap [music] is still underground."
