Sagol 59 (Born 1 October 1968) is a Jerusalem-based hip-hop MC.[1] Raised on a Kibbutz in Israel, Khen Rotem took the name Sagol 59, or “purple 59,” from his personal Kibbutz laundry bag tag. After his required 3 year stint in the Israeli Defense Forces, Sagol turned to music, beginning his career in blues, funk and rock before moving on to hip hop in the late 1990s.[2] Shortly after he relocated to Jerusalem, Sagol was picked up by the city’s seminal (and now defunct) indie label, Fact Records[3]
He appeared on the Israeli hip hop scene with his 2000 debut (Blue Period).[4] He has released done 6 full-length albums to date. He has collaborated with multiple artists. and had done multiple live shows in Israel [5] and overseas (U.S,[6] Europe).[7]
Within the last decade, Sagol has participated in many events alongside Palestinian and Arab musicians,[8] and has performed alongside many well known artists and overseas (Matisyahu, DJ Spooky, Kenny Mohammed The Human Orchestra, Remedy, Killah Priest, Sole of Anticon, Spearhead’s Michael Franti, Yitz Jordan aka Y-Love, Taskforce [9] and Israeli artists such as Hadag Nachash, Coolooloosh, Mook-e, Teapacks and many others.[10]
In 2001 he received critical praise for his groundbreaking collaboration “Summit Meeting"(feat. Tamer Nafar of Palestinian crew DAM (band) & Shaanan Streett of Hadag Nachash), the first-ever collaborative recording featuring both Israeli and Arab MCs.[4] He regularly hosts the Corner Prophets/Old Jeruz Cipher Hip Hop series,[4] a cultural initiative meant to unite the diverse cultural communities located in Jerusalem through a shared interest in hip-hop.[4] By working with Corner Prophets, Sagol’s goal is to inspire a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians that turn to art, not violence, as a means to find a common ground.[4]
Sagol was part of the Unity Sessions featured at the 2004 Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. Unity Sessions featured internationally renowned Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, and Arab musicians in hip hop and traditional Middle Eastern music, many of whom were performing for the first time in the United States. The Unity Sessions was produced by JDub Records and Aliza Rabinoff.
His first American project, 'Make Room' debuted on May 6, 2008 on JDub Records.[11] Make Room features full production by the youngest producer in Israel, 16 year old Johnny Hakatan aka Little Johnny, who first came to prominence on "Chomer MiKomi," an album by Hadag Nachash. In August 2008 Sagol embarked on an American tour, performing concerts in New York, Denver, Cleveland and Los Angeles. American musician DJ Spooky has remixed Sagol's track "Leeches" for the American release of "Make Room". In March 2010 JDub Records released "Sagol Remixed 2000-2010", a digital album containing remixes, b-sides, rare and unreleased tracks, celebrating Sagol 59's decade of activity. In October 2010, Sagol 59 performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, alongside rappers from all over the world. Sagol has appeared in the film "The Furious Force Of Rhymes" directed by Josh Atesh Litle and produced by ARTE, The Smithsonian Channel, Link TV, Les Films d'Ici and Furious Media, featuring rappers from the U.S, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The film had its festival premiere in August 2010 at the Locarno International Film Festival. 2011 saw the release of "Another Passenger", an album which saw Sagol return to his Blues-Rock-Folk roots. "Another Passenger", produced by Amir Estlein, featured Sagol singing and playing guitar, alongside notable Israeli musicians such as Geva Alon, Rona Keinan, Dan Toren, poet Ronnie Someck, Jazz saxophonist Albert Begger as well as members of Red Band.