Dhaka, July 12 -- On July 16, 2024, as security forces launched a brutal crackdown on student protesters campaigning against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's increasingly authoritarian government, Bangladeshi rapper Massrur Jahan Alif - popularly known as Shezan - released a song.
Titled Kotha Ko (speak up in Bangla), the song asked: "The country says it's free, then where's your roar?"
It was the day that Abu Sayed, a protester, was killed, becoming the face of the campaign to depose Hasina after 15 years in power.
Sayed's death fuelled the public anger that led to intensified protests. And Shezan's Kotha Ko, along with a song by another rapper, Hannan Hossain Shimul, became anthems for that movement, culminating in Hasina fleeing Ba...