Magalhães Luís
"When people living closer to each other than most Americans do, never set foot on the land of their neighbors and are more ignorant of each other's cultures than if they lived a world and a half away.
This month, we met Israeli Arabs who say they feel like strangers not only to Israelis but to Arabs as well. They say that Israelis treat them like Palestinians (translations: they treat them like second class citizens), and that Arabs treat them like Israelis (translation: they treat them like foreigners or enemies).
We decided to profile the leading Arab hip-hop group DAM because we found it fascinating that Rap, born in America, had firmly taken root in the Middle East.
"When you see what is going on in Gaza," says the group's leader, Israeli-Arab Tamer Nafar, "you can't help but be angry. You stay angry. You write angry."
At a concert in Ramallah, young Palestinians cheered the hip-hop trio on. They rapped on stage with, as a backdrop, pictures of the latest Palestinian Intifada and large letters that read "WE WILL NOT BE DIVIDED" projected onto the Israeli wall separating Palestinian and Israeli areas.
The more I listened to their CD and watched video of their concert, the more I started realizing that hip-hop has become young people's official, universal language of pain and frustration; and DAM (which means "Blood" in Arabic) says they want their art to be a weapon against what they say is political and social oppression. Their main Arabic-language hit is titled "Who's the Terrorist?," a question directed at Israelis, of course.
DAM also rap in Hebrew, with a song called "Born Here." The video shows the rappers arguing with Israeli police in the mixed Arab-Israeli city of Lod, telling them "We too, were Born Here, not just you."
And as you will hopefully see in this month's show, they aren't just a novelty act. DAM's talented trio are also a formidable musical force.
Wishful thinking
My Israeli driver drops me off and hands me my suitcase.
"Come back. But hopefully not for something bad. Come back when things are good, too," he says.
I hear that a lot in Lebanon: "Come back when things are good next time, Miss Hala."
That's what the young lady at the front desk in my Beirut hotel told me the last time I reported out of Lebanon, as I was checking out.
"I will," I always answer, knowing it's a promise I'm rarely able to keep." » http:// edition.cnn.com/ 2007/WORLD/ meast/01/04/ ime.diary/
"When people living closer to each other than most Americans do, never set foot on the land of their neighbors and are more ignorant of each other's cultures than if they lived a world and a half away.
This month, we met Israeli Arabs who say they feel like strangers not only to Israelis but to Arabs as well. They say that Israelis treat them like Palestinians (translations: they treat them like second class citizens), and that Arabs treat them like Israelis (translation: they treat them like foreigners or enemies).
We decided to profile the leading Arab hip-hop group DAM because we found it fascinating that Rap, born in America, had firmly taken root in the Middle East.
"When you see what is going on in Gaza," says the group's leader, Israeli-Arab Tamer Nafar, "you can't help but be angry. You stay angry. You write angry."
At a concert in Ramallah, young Palestinians cheered the hip-hop trio on. They rapped on stage with, as a backdrop, pictures of the latest Palestinian Intifada and large letters that read "WE WILL NOT BE DIVIDED" projected onto the Israeli wall separating Palestinian and Israeli areas.
The more I listened to their CD and watched video of their concert, the more I started realizing that hip-hop has become young people's official, universal language of pain and frustration; and DAM (which means "Blood" in Arabic) says they want their art to be a weapon against what they say is political and social oppression. Their main Arabic-language
DAM also rap in Hebrew, with a song called "Born Here." The video shows the rappers arguing with Israeli police in the mixed Arab-Israeli city of Lod, telling them "We too, were Born Here, not just you."
And as you will hopefully see in this month's show, they aren't just a novelty act. DAM's talented trio are also a formidable musical force.
Wishful thinking
My Israeli driver drops me off and hands me my suitcase.
"Come back. But hopefully not for something bad. Come back when things are good, too," he says.
I hear that a lot in Lebanon: "Come back when things are good next time, Miss Hala."
That's what the young lady at the front desk in my Beirut hotel told me the last time I reported out of Lebanon, as I was checking out.
"I will," I always answer, knowing it's a promise I'm rarely able to keep." » http://
Magalhães Luís
https:// www.facebook.com / permalink.php?st ory_fbid=101514 03378141935&id= 62676006934 [20:00 » o Porto, Portugal]
https://
Magalhães Luís
"“Our art has always given voice to contentious subjects such as rights and discrimination against women. These issues touch us deeply and they are incidents we see in our everyday lives and feel strongly about. So as DAM we have to talk about these matters.”
“Letters from a cell” is the trio’s personal endeavor into understanding the mental anguish and psychological trauma suffered by prisoners punished not for exhibiting the ambit of their political ambitions but for simply bearing the blood of the deprived. The only mode of communication with their families is the archaic method of writing letters in a world that has long bypassed pads and pens.
“The whole world knew about the Israeli soldier who was captured in Gaza but not enough people have heard about the 7000 plus prisoners who are living in prisons, taken away from their homes and families. So it’s important to humanize the Palestinian cause.”
“Sometimes you can’t change the world in a minute or with a song, but you can spark minds that will change the world and make people more aware of the problems we share and the reality that we live in.”
“I’m aware of the fact that I cannot singlehandedly change the world but I’m sure I can contribute to change. It’s like a pyramid; small gestures, acts and expressions can make a difference and create an impact. Change will come, as long as someone is talking about change and taking active steps. As a member of DAM I have vowed to make a difference and not to live under the prevalent status quo conditions.”
Jreri goes on to speak about the group’s willful desire to release their music despite having faced production and other logistical difficulties due to the absence of a fully-supported production establishment in Palestine; the new album was mostly crowd-sourced through independent fan supported forums.
“We have people who support our music financially and this is how we managed to release it. If we didn’t have the support of our fans then I guess the album wouldn’t be out now.”
“We do not only take care of our music but also how to sell, market and distribute it as well. Sometimes this limits our musical space because we spend a lot of time and energy on the business matters when we should focus on our music, yet if don’t our music wouldn’t be released.”
“In the Arab world we are missing people who support independent music, because all that we see on TV is mainstream, not authentic underground music talking about the things that go on in the Arab world, but people talking all the time about love, the night and the stars. I think this limits the artistic world and the minds in the Arab region because you don’t provide those channels for the crowds.”
“It’s not just a matter of time but also a revolution. After the Arab Spring we saw music that we didn’t see before. One of the first Tunisian revolutionary songs was shown on TV, which is a major development.”
Jreri also spoke about DAM’s collaboration with German-Palestin ian artist Maryam Younus on a track titled “Schizophrenic” due to be released soon as well as their upcoming UStour commencing end of March and a European tour scheduled for September.
“We love life and we want to see a change happening and live as any other people in any other nation that has basic freedoms. It’s true that the situation is frustrating and nothing’s changing, but still to see people demonstrate every Friday gives me the hope that I see everywhere in Palestine. It gives me hope that things will change. It’s hard but no one promised you an easy life in the first place. We have a long way to go as Palestinians but we are fighting for our rights and that’s what keeps us going.”
• life.style@arab news.com"
"“Our art has always given voice to contentious subjects such as rights and discrimination against women. These issues touch us deeply and they are incidents we see in our everyday lives and feel strongly about. So as DAM we have to talk about these matters.”
“Letters from a cell” is the trio’s personal endeavor into understanding the mental anguish and psychological trauma suffered by prisoners punished not for exhibiting the ambit of their political ambitions but for simply bearing the blood of the deprived. The only mode of communication with their families is the archaic method of writing letters in a world that has long bypassed pads and pens.
“The whole world knew about the Israeli soldier who was captured in Gaza but not enough people have heard about the 7000 plus prisoners who are living in prisons, taken away from their homes and families. So it’s important to humanize the Palestinian cause.”
“Sometimes you can’t change the world in a minute or with a song, but you can spark minds that will change the world and make people more aware of the problems we share and the reality that we live in.”
“I’m aware of the fact that I cannot singlehandedly change the world but I’m sure I can contribute to change. It’s like a pyramid; small gestures, acts and expressions can make a difference and create an impact. Change will come, as long as someone is talking about change and taking active steps. As a member of DAM I have vowed to make a difference and not to live under the prevalent status quo conditions.”
Jreri goes on to speak about the group’s willful desire to release their music despite having faced production and other logistical difficulties due to the absence of a fully-supported
“We have people who support our music financially and this is how we managed to release it. If we didn’t have the support of our fans then I guess the album wouldn’t be out now.”
“We do not only take care of our music but also how to sell, market and distribute it as well. Sometimes this limits our musical space because we spend a lot of time and energy on the business matters when we should focus on our music, yet if don’t our music wouldn’t be released.”
“In the Arab world we are missing people who support independent music, because all that we see on TV is mainstream, not authentic underground music talking about the things that go on in the Arab world, but people talking all the time about love, the night and the stars. I think this limits the artistic world and the minds in the Arab region because you don’t provide those channels for the crowds.”
“It’s not just a matter of time but also a revolution. After the Arab Spring we saw music that we didn’t see before. One of the first Tunisian revolutionary songs was shown on TV, which is a major development.”
Jreri also spoke about DAM’s collaboration with German-Palestin
“We love life and we want to see a change happening and live as any other people in any other nation that has basic freedoms. It’s true that the situation is frustrating and nothing’s changing, but still to see people demonstrate every Friday gives me the hope that I see everywhere in Palestine. It gives me hope that things will change. It’s hard but no one promised you an easy life in the first place. We have a long way to go as Palestinians but we are fighting for our rights and that’s what keeps us going.”
• life.style@arab
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