Afghanistan’s Rap Scene Is Real, Political, And Growing

In June 2015, a young Afghan soldier became a national hero overnight, after defending the Afghan parliament from a deadly Taliban attack. Within days, he became an unlikelier kind of hero as well: a muse for Afghan rap.

When TV interviewers asked the soldier, Essa Khan Laghmani, to describe how he single-handedly killed seven armed insurgents, he responded “Taq…