“At a concert by the Palestinian Rapperz (PR) last summer, Islamic youths, outraged by the group’s arm thrusts and crotch grabs, rushed onstage and beat up its four members. Soon after, a Palestinian M.C. known as Sompol was also assailed for immorality … And yet rap is thriving … evolving into a gritty hybrid expression of the Arab-Israeli conflict … Israel [also] has rappers of every variety … Jew Da Maccabi found rap before religion, but he’s now putting his religion into his rap. He dons the black garb and practices the habits of an ultra-orthodox Jew, with a few hip-hop accessories such as a Yankees baseball cap instead of a broad-brimmed black hat.”

Time on rap in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, here.

Posted Friday, February 23rd, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
Filed in community and social, middle east, politics

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Further reading

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1. Palestinian infighting
2. Israel: inform or no treatment
3. Rice’s diplomatic default