In this paper, I critique previous scholarship on mahraganat, a relatively new genre of music in Egypt that emerged around 2004/5. Mahraganat originated in poor low-income, working-class neighborhoods and has become one of the most popular genres in Egypt since the 2011 revolution. Studies of mahraganat in the existing literature often reflect the orientalist and classist views of their scholars and writers. I redress these perceptions by examining the relationship between class and the politics of respectability in the Egyptian media as well as in existing scholarly accounts. By focusing on the case of Hamo Bika, a famous mahraganat singer, I highlight the power dynamics between the working class, who make up most of the mahraganat fan base, and the middle and upper class in Egypt. State institutions, primarily the Musician’s Syndicate, which is responsible for issuing memberships and permits for those involved in Egypt’s music industry, has initially prohibited Bika from performing inside the country, and have denied him membership. Since the third week of February 2020, the Syndicate has banned all mahraganat artists from performing in all venues across the country. The ban included Hassan Shakosh, another famous mahraganat artist whose song/mahragan ranked number 1 on SoundCloud's charts globally in the same week the ban was issued. Bika and Shakosh's cases paint a picture of how class/power dynamics and politics of respectability have manifested themselves into shaping the relationships between mahraganat artists and the state. One example to illustrate these politics, the Syndicate requires members to have college degrees, and Hamo Bika is illiterate, hence, he cannot be a member according to the law. Mahraganat artists are also accused of ruining the people's "traditional" taste by making their music, which feeds into the politics of respectability. Hence, I argue that mahraganat artists create a space of resilience and resistance through their innovative ideas and praxis. The whole process of mahraganat production is done away from the eyes of the state, due to the use of hacked software in the mahraganat production, and due to the high consumption of the music online.