Salah Edin

Abid Tounssi, known by his stage name Salah Edin (born 23 June 1980), is a Dutch-Moroccan rapper and actor.

Salah Edin gained recognition as a rapper (first in Arabic, then also in Dutch) in the 1990s and broke through to a larger audience in 2006 when he signed with Dutch hip-hop label TopNotch. His third album, WOII, was slated for release in September 2011; the title is a reference to World War II, but carries other connotations as well, with the initials also referring to Willem Oltmans and Geert Wilders. That same year, he acted in a short Moroccan film, with another film already finished and a TV series in the making.

Edin has had a few encounters with controversy. Politician Geert Wilders used a photograph of Edin for his 2008 anti-Muslim film Fitna; his photograph was identified as a photo of Mohammed Bouyeri, convicted for murdering Theo van Gogh. Edin filed suit, and in response, so Edin says, Wilders offered to appear in a rap song with him. He refused, and the judge found for Edin, ordering Wilders to pay €3,000 to the rapper and €5,000 to the photographer.

Demos

• 2003 - Hakma

Albums

• 2007 - Nederlands Grootste Nachtmerrie ("Holland's Biggest Nightmare", TopNotch)
• 2009 - HORR
• 2011 - WOII

Mixtapes

• 2006 - The Official Mixtape

Contributing artist

• 2012 - The Rough Guide to the Music of Morocco (World Music Network)