Middle eastern hip hop

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Middle Eastern hip hop is hip hop music and culture originating in the Middle East. It is performed in many languages such as English, local Arabic dialects, Hebrew, and French. It is highly influenced by American hip hop.

Hip hop music has a high popularity almost everywhere in the Middle East. It is played on the radio stations and shown on TV stations, but performing it has begun only recently. A lot of hip hop groups are still underground. Being critical about politics and expressing your views could incite government censure. The internet has been a major outlet for most groups.

1 Algeria
2 Bahrain
3 Egypt
4 Iraq
5 Israel
6 Kuwait
7 Lebanon
8 Morocco
9 Palestine
10 Other
11 External links

[edit] Algeria

Famous Algerian rappers include Intik, MBS, Hamma, and MIA.

[edit] Bahrain

In Bahrain, there's DJ Outlaw.

[edit] Egypt

More recent and very popular hip hop performers are MTM from Egypt, who have been using Egyptian Arabic in their songs. JAFFA PHONIX, founded in 2003 by two Palestinian refugees in Egypt, is an electro/hop band using Palestinain arabic. The Arabian Knightz have also been gaining popularity.

[edit] Iraq

NiZ-R is an Iraqi rapper who is living in Jordan who raps in both Jordanian and Iraqi.

[edit] Israel

A DJ named Leron Teeni is credited as the founder of the Israeli rap scene in the mid 1990s. Teeni is the DJ for a hip hop show the “The Bizz” that is broadcasted on the Israeli army radio station. Kids started coming on his show in order to showcase their skills and be heard rapping, however, they were always rapping in English. To rap in Hebrew at this time was basically not being done until a group by the name of Shabak Samech came onto the scene.

Shabak Samech is considered to be the first Isreali hip hop group, credited with being the most responsible for the progression of Israeli hip hop. They released their first album in 1995, and achieved platinum status with the release of their second album.

The group Hadag Nahash (meaning “Snake Fish”)that formed in 1996 was one of the first rap groups to hit the mainstream in Israel. A sprouting Palestinian scene grew along side them. They have been compared frequently to the American hip hop group “the Roots” since they use a live band instead of a DJ for their backup music.

Kobi Shinobi, more commonly known as Subliminal, is the supposedly most popular rapper in Israel. The album “The Light and the Shadow” with partner Shadow has sold over 1 million records world wide. Subliminal was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. After the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 the two began writing patriotic songs. They became known as creators of "Zionist hip-hop", a label still applied to them. With occasional Arabic lyrics and songs like "Peace in the Middle East", they take a stance that can be described as desirous of a better future but unapologetic about the present. Subliminal and Ha'Tzel also helped discover the Arab Israeli rapper Tamer Nafar; they collaborated but eventually fell out over political differences. The bitter end of their musical relationship is chronicled in the documentary film, Channels of Rage.

SHI 360--Shai Haddad was born in Haifa, Israel then moved to Montreal, Canada. SHI 360’s lyrics reflect political and social themes as opposed to feel good pop that dominates the Israeli radio. In the song “Break the silence” he talks to kids speaking up about abuse from home life. He considers himself a conscious emcee. SHI 360 hopes to change the view on how radio is supposed to sound in Israel.

[edit] Kuwait

There is a popular Kuwaiti hip hop band called Army of One [1], who perform in English. They released an album called "Reprezentin", which received much success around the region.

[edit] Lebanon

AKS'SER, an Arabic hip-hop group from Lebanon, was formed by two Beirut-based rappers whose music is a discourse about a society marked by civil war. Rayess Bek, one of AKS'SER members, has gone on with a solo career, releasing a widely aclaimed album, Aks'ser was recently signed by EMI. Clotaire K, another Lebanese rapper, recently released an album. Ashekman (Lebanese rap crew) and Clotaire K are also from Lebanon.

[edit] Morocco

One of the most successful Arabic rappers is the Moroccan artist Salah Edin who performs his music in the Moroccan dialect Darija. Salah Edin has performed in over 31 countries in 4 continents and worked among popular American acts such as the Wu-Tang Clan, producer Focus (Aftermath) as well as with popular French artists IAM and Danish topsellers Outlandish.

[edit] Palestine

Palestinian hip hop supposedly started in 1998 with Tamer Nafar's group DAM. These Palestinian youth forged the new Palestinian musical sub-genre, which blends Arabic melodies and hip hop beats. The group, based in Israel was founded in 1998, and is made up of three Palestinian men (who are also Israeli citizens): Tamer Nafar, his brother Suhell Nafar, and Mahmoud Jrere. The group's name is the Arabic word for "eternity" and the Hebrew word for "blood," (دم) but can also be an acronym for "Da Arabic MCs." The group's lyrics often deal with the frustration at the feeling of being second class citizens in Israel, as well as other issues familiar to hip-hop fans around the world, including drug-related violence. Despite not having a formal recording contract, DAM's 2001 single "Meen Irhabi? - Who's the Terrorist?" - was downloaded more than a million times from their website. The group has also delivered their message outside Israel and the Palestinian territories on four European tours. DAM's latest single "Born Here" is in Hebrew and they are hoping they can bring the Palestinian message to an Israeli audience. "Arabs already know how they live - we have to educate Israelis on what's going on." On the 17th of November 2006 they released their first album: "Dedication".

Other Palestinian rappers include MWR, DAM, Arapeyat and Jabbar (rapper & producer) [2], the Palestinian Rapperz, the N.O.M.A.D.S [3], and the Philistines [4], and JAFFA PHONIX, founded in 2003 by two Palestinian refugees in Egypt, is an electro/hop band using Palestinain arabic.

[edit] Other

From other Arab nations, Arab Legion, Iron Sheik, Patriarch Son of a Refugee, Euphrates, h2Z, and Adam A. Shoucair also known as (A.M.A) all.mighty.ameer [5].

Other successful rappers, producers and DJ's of Arabic origin are Cilvaringz (Wu-Tang Clan), DJ Cut Killer (France), DJ Abdel (France), Freeman (IAM), Isam Bachiri (Outlandish), producer Fred Wreck (Snoop Dogg, G-Unit), DJ Lady S (Belgium), and all.mighty.ameer (Detroit).