Cairokee is an Egyptian rock band that was officially launched in 2003 but came to prominence with its revolutionary music following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 due to its politically-inspired lyrics and protest songs released following the uprising. Their title song "Ya El Midan", featuring Egyptian singer Aida el Ayoubi who had previously retired in the 1990s, ranked number one on Facebook worldwide for downloads and number eight on YouTube with more than half a million views on the video channel in just two days following its internet release. Background The band consists of Amir Eid (lead vocalist), Sherif Hawary (lead guitarist), Tamer Hashem (drummer), Sherif Mostafa (keyboardist), and Adam el-Alfy (bass guitarist). The initial band members were friends ever since their school days, and Tamer was already a drummer back then. In 2003, Eid and Hawary had started an English band initially called Black Star. They started playing covers of English songs, with only one Egyptian Masry song called "Ghariba" that was highly admired by their audiences. They later decided to continue making Egyptian songs because they felt it was shameful to keep playing English music as it wasn't their mother tongue. They were mainly influenced by the works of Pink Floyd and The Beatles and regard Pink Floyd's music as an inspiration for their own musical career. Career Following the 2011 revolution, they released their first major hit "Sout El Horeya" (The voice of freedom), a joint collaboration between the band's main vocalist Amir Eid and music producer, sound engineer and vocalist Hany Adel of the band Wust El-Balad. The song had over 2 million views on YouTube and was reportedly ranked a world record as one of the most watched videos in the shortest period of time. Another hit song, "Ya El Midan" (Oh you, the Square), marked the return of singer Aida el Ayoubi after 20 years of absence from the stage. The song was a tribute to Tahrir Square, addressing and personifying it as another living and breathing member of the opposition, and its video clip documented the latest protests in an indirect way as the camera was apparently filming inside a protester's house and it roamed over clothes riddled with bullet holes, medical white coats, onions and types vinegar (substances that defuse the effects of teargas) and the plastic shields of the CSF. On 24 January 2012, marking the first anniversary of the revolution,