DAM (band)

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DAM
Born Lod, Israel
Origin Palestine
Genre(s) Hip hop, Political rap
Occupation(s) Rapper, songwriter
Years active 1999 – present
Website [1]

DAM (Arabic: دام; Hebrew: דם) is the first Arab Israeli hip hop group. The group, based in Israel, was founded in 1998, and is made up of three Palestinian men: Tamer Nafar, his brother Suhell, and their friend Mahmoud Jr. The group's name is the Arabic verb for "to last forever/eternity" (دام) and the Hebrew word for "blood" (דם), but can also be an acronym for "Da Arabic MCs." The Arabic word for "blood" (دم) is spelled similarly, but without an alif.

DAM sings primarily in Arabic, but also in English and Hebrew to widen their audience appeal.

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.

"Our city, Lod, is considered the biggest drug market in the Middle East. You can get everything here - including weed and cocaine," says Tamer Nafer, lead rapper of the group.

Despite not having a formal recording contract, DAM's 2001 single "Meen Erhabe? - 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.

Their live performances feature images of Israeli soldiers clashing with stone-throwing Palestinians.

Despite this, 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. By rapping in Hebrew DAM is constructing and representing a cross cultural identity. This identity is the statement that Palestinians are an undeniable part of Israeli society, or to a further extant Israeli society is an Israeli-Palestinian society. Nafar is showing a willingness to talk while making it unsettlingly clear who his audience is. Rapping in Hebrew is both a gesture of compromise and exhibition of possibly threatening intelligence and adaptability. "Born Here" contains the line “Avarti al hachok? Lo lo, ha chok aver a’lie, die die, rabotie”, “I violated the law? No no, the law violated me. Enough is enough gentlemen”. Criticizing the letter of the law in the language of the law is a powerful statement of awareness regarding the systemic degradation of the Palestinian people condoned by Israel’s legal code as it is sometimes interpreted and enforced by the military and police.

On the 17th of November 2006 they released their first album: "Dedication".

They appeared on Al Jazeera's program From Washington on June 4, 2007, during a report on Arabic hip hop.

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