abou leyla means 'father of the night' in arabic.usical genre is "mahraganat," a uniquely egyptian blend of funk, techno and rap. ♪ >> the music helps me forget all my worries. we sing about what we experience on the street. and, of course, we always try to convey a message. ♪ >> but because his lyrics touch on subjects like drugs and women, in recent months, he's been banned from playing live concerts by egypt's powerful state-sponsored musicians syndicate. musicians must be registered with it to perform commercially. >> i feel paralyzed. the ban is a disaster. they should have talked to me and told me what i'm doing wrong, and what i can do to change it. >> different worlds collide in egypt's music scene. on the one hand, there is the musicians syndicate, which decides who can perform and who can't. on the other, there are the young artists who usually come from rough neighborhoods in cairo and alexandria. that's where mahraganat originated, spreading from the street, some 15 years ago, to the mainstream. ♪ today mahraganat echoes