Palestinian hip hop
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Palestinian hip hop allegedly started in 1998 with Tamer Nafar's group DAM[1]. These Palestinian youth forged the new Palestinian musical sub-genre, which blends Arabic melodies and hip hop beats. Lyrics are often sung in Arabic, Hebrew, English, and sometimes French.
Borrowing from traditional rap music that first emerged in New York in the 1970s, "young Palestinian musicians have tailored the style to express their own grievances with the social and political climate in which they live and work." Palestinian hip hop works to challenge stereotypes and instigate dialogue about the Israel/Palestine conflict[2].
Other Palestinian hip hop artists include members of The Philistines, MWR, and the Palestinian Rapperz.
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[edit] Non-Hip hop Musical Influences
Historically, music has served as an integral accompaniment to various social and religious rituals and ceremonies in Palestinian society (Al-Taee 47). Much of the middle-eastern and Arabic string instruments utilized in classical Palestinian music are sampled over Hip-hop beats in both Israeli and Palestinian hip-hop as part of a joint process of localization. Just as the percussiveness of the Hebrew language is emphasized in Israeli Hip-hop, Palestinian music has always revolved around the rhythmic specificity and smooth melodic tone of Arabic. “Musically speaking, Palestinian songs are usually pure melody performed monophonically with complex vocal ornamentations and strong percussive rhythm beats” [3]. The presence of a hand-drum in classical Palestinian music indicates a cultural esthetic conducive to the vocal, verbal and instrumental percussion which serve as the foundational elements of Hip-hop.
[edit] Slingshot Hip Hop
American filmmaker Jackie Salloum's 2008 feature length documentary Slingshot Hip Hop traces the history and development of Palestinian Hip Hop in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip from the time DAM pioneered the art form in the late 1990s. DAM, Palestinian Rapperz, Mahmoud Shalabi, and female artists Arapeyat and Abeer Zinaty are all featured in the documentary. The film was screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival[4]
[edit] Hip-Hop Messages
A lot of Palestinian Hip Hop artists base most of their music on the fight between Palestinian rappers who seek peace with justice and Jewish rappers who preach Zionism. These artists, like the group, Dam, also sends messages against male dictatorship, drugs , and violence. Most of these messages in Palestinian Hip-Hop directly contradict ideals in American rap. It would be simple for these Palestinians to step into a world of violence right outside their door. Instead, they attempt to spread their politically conscious messages to the world. [5]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Nissenbaum, Dion. "‘Palestinians’ embracing hip-hop to push ‘perspective of the victims’", Jewish World Review, Sept. 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
- ^ El-Sabawi, Taleed (2005). Palestinian Conflict Bounces to a New Beat. Angelingo. Archived from the original on Apr 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
- ^ Al-Taee, Nasser. "Voices of Peace and the Legacy of Reconciliation: Popular Music, Nationalism, and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East." Popular Music 21 (2002): 41-61. JSTOR. EBSCO. Brandeis University, Waltham. 01 Apr. 2008.
- ^ Slingshot Hip Hop http://slingshothiphop.com
- ^ Palestinian political rap attracts growing crowds by Rachel Shabi - Common Ground News Service
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