The trajectory from arabesque to rap in Türkiye’s musical history can be read as a process of transformation in which tensions between East and West, center and periphery and religiosity and secularism gain continuity through aesthetic forms. When this continuity is interpreted through Ibn Khaldun’s cyclical understanding of social transformation, it becomes more analytically coherent.

According to Ibn Khaldun, every political structure is born from a strong asabiyyah, a bond of social solidarity. This bond typically emerges from the periphery. It is rigid, uncompromising, and not yet softened by institutional order. As the structure strengthens, this bond comes into contact with the center and becomes institutionalized. However, as prosperity increases, asabiyyah gradually dissolves. Even if the system survives, its founding energy begins to fade. Collapse often stems not from external forces but from internal exhaustion. Then a new asabiyyah emerges, and the cycle begins again.

The trajectory of arabesque music in Tükiye resembles the aesthetic counterpart of this cycle.

Arabesque developed over a long period of accumulation extending from the 1930s to the 1970s. During this phase, the makam-based musical aesthetics inherited from the Ottoman sphere were reproduced through intense musical interaction between Türkiye and Egypt. This was a formative stage – unnamed yet already circulating in sound. At this point, modal structures, elongated melodic phrases, vibratory vocal expression, and the temporal diffusion of emotion shaped the aesthetic character of arabesque. The influence of the Ottoman makam-based improvisational tradition, penetrating modern Egyptian vocal melodies and circulating through transregional musical exchanges, was central to this formation.

At the same time, arabesque carries the pain of not becoming urban, or of failing to move from the periphery to the center. This pain does not merely reflect economic or spatial exclusion but also a condition of non-recognition and lack of belonging. Consequently, its language is melancholic and fatalistic. Suffering here is ontological; it permeates the individual's very existence.

This ontological fracture appears in arabesque lyrics as a rebellion directed toward fate and God. However, this rebellion does not signify total rupture. Rather, it reflects the inner conflict of individuals who remain aware of their sin and limitations. In this sense, arabesque embodies a form of sinful religiosity that has not entirely severed its connection to the sacred but instead maintains a tense relationship with it.

The period between 1979 and 1990 marks arabesque's clear rise. Through cassette technology, cinema, and influential performers, arabesque became massified and moved from the margins to the center. This phase represents the moment when a peripheral aesthetic language achieved cultural centrality.

After the 1990s, arabesque entered a phase of dissolution and retreat. This period coincided with the rise of pop music. Arabesque increasingly resembled other musical forms, and its representational power weakened. The structure remained, but its founding energy had dissipated.

At precisely this point in Ibn Khaldun's cycle, a new phase begins. Every dissolution generates a new asabiyyah.

The trajectory of rap music in Türkiye represents the history of this new asabiyyah. Rap developed along the Germany-Türkiye axis. Its formation began in the diasporic urban spaces of Europe, where it emerged as a language of identity and expression for migrant youth.

The breakthrough in rap's visibility in Türkiye came with its transition from a diasporic form into a nationally recognized genre. In the 2000s, rap merged with the rhythmic and linguistic possibilities of Turkish, yet remained in a preparatory phase. It was widespread but not yet central.

During this stage, rap's aesthetic character became clearer. At its core, rap carries a Western sonic structure. Rhythm is foregrounded and tempo is high. Emotion is not stretched over time but compressed, fragmented and expressed directly. This Western aesthetic aligns more closely with the speed and conflicts of modern urban life.

The centralization process once experienced by arabesque is today repeated through rap, albeit in a different form. The fundamental difference between the two lies in the threshold experience. Arabesque is an aesthetic waiting at the gates of the city, whereas rap has already entered. While arabesque expresses the pain of failing to urbanize, rap articulates the pain of being urban.

Moreover, arabesque's essence – rebelling against God while retaining a sense of sin – gives way in rap to a language that has largely severed its connection with the sacred, becoming more demanding, worldly and secular. In this new language, urban life and street experience are central. Place, space and identity become the direct stage of daily struggle.

Rap lyrics openly reveal the individual's mental state, psychological condition and emotional fluctuations. Anger, anxiety and vulnerability are not concealed. Alongside narratives of money, status and success, emotions such as depression and melancholy also come to the forefront.

Similarly, just as arabesque once permeated everyday life and became a dominant aesthetic language, by the late 2010s rap came to dominate the broader musical field. Rap thus became not merely a genre for a specific audience but one of the primary modes of expression within mainstream culture.

The transformation of rap into a mass expressive regime after 2017 is closely linked not only to aesthetic preferences but also to a fundamental technological shift in music circulation. What cassette technology meant for arabesque, digital platforms represent for rap. These platforms emphasize the individual track, repeatability and rapid circulation. This places rap, with its short-form, rhythm-centered and easily reproducible structure, in a more advantageous position than other genres. Therefore, the centralization of rap is not merely a content-based transformation but is also deeply connected to its high adaptability to the conditions of digital circulation.

In the post-pandemic period, this trend became even more visible, as increased use of digital platforms accelerated both production and circulation. Rap emerged as the genre most adaptable to these new conditions. In this process, rap ceased to be merely a genre and transformed into a dominant expressive regime that incorporated other musical styles. Arabesque, pop and other musical forms were recirculated through rap aesthetics. Rhythm, discourse and modes of expression were largely restructured within a framework defined by rap.

Ultimately, this process reveals not only the transformation of musical tastes in Turkish society but also deeper shifts in its social structure. The transition from arabesque to rap demonstrates increasing Westernization, secularization and urbanization, along with a corresponding transformation in aesthetic language. However, according to Ibn Khaldun's cyclical model, the current aesthetic regime and expressive language will also likely dissolve over time, giving way to a new form of expression.