Ramallah Underground, based in Ramallah, Palestine, is a musical collective born in 2002, [1] [2] from the desire to give voice to a generation of Palestinians and Arabs, in a situation of great economic, artistic, and political difficulty. [3] The collective was founded by artists Stormtrap (later known as Asifeh) and Boikutt (later known as Muqata'a), later joined by Aswatt, who aim to rejuvenate Arabic culture by creating "music that Arabic youth can relate to," in the words of Boikutt. [4] They rap in Arabic, [5] and are credited as some of the founders of Palestinian hip-hop. [6] Their music combines hip-hop, trip hop, and downtempo, besides more traditional Middle-Eastern music, [7] with a commitment to their local culture and an awareness of the imposing presence of Palestine in their lives. [8]
As producers and as MCs, the collective has collaborated with numerous artists across the globe, most recently Slovo, Boikutt appears on the track "Nakba" from their new album Todo Cambia. [9] They have performed live in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Vienna, Melbourne (at the Melbourne International Arts Festival [10] ), Liverpool, [11] Cairo, Lausanne, Amsterdam (as part of "Rap4Justice" in the Melkweg [12] ), and Washington, D.C., and recently incorporated a visual set by Palestinian visual artist Ruanne Abou-Rahme in their live performances. [13]
Ramallah Underground does not have an official release yet and mostly uses the internet as a way of circulating their music. In fact, their MySpace page led David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet to ask them to collaborate on a piece, "Tashweesh," composed by Boikutt, which the quartet started playing live in 2008. [14] [15] and which is included on their 2009 release Floodplain . [16]
Ramallahunderground.com Singles [3]
1. Sijen ib Sijen (4:25)
2. Kilmeh (Se'beh Titfasar) - ROUGH MIX (2:49)
3. aswatt il zaman (3:32)
4. 970 (3:03)
5. Al Zallam (3:55)
6. Min il Kaheff (feat. Lethal Skillz) (4:15)
7. Hon Habess (3:51)
8. Ta'al Shoof (3:45)
9. lamal ftoor yiseer 'asha (2:57)
10. Mish Beinatna - B Dub remix (5:06)
11. Sot Ramallah (3:49)
12. Kanabel Mudee'a (3:01)
13. Qararat (feat. Lethal Skillz) (3:47)
14. Sabe' Nomeh (3:23)
15. Dameer Mustater 73 (4:46)
16. Taht Il Ankad (2:37)
17. Mish Beinatna (2:48)
18. Areeb Il Shar (2:47)
19. Nateejeh Bala Shoghol (2:29)
20. Reporting Live (Feat. Bukue One & Chakal) (3:43)
Palestinians are an Arab ethnonational group native to the region of Palestine.
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the de facto administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, 10 km north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of 872 meters (2,861 ft) above sea level, adjacent to al-Bireh.
The music of Palestine is one of many regional subgenres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet.
The Diggin' in the Crates Crew, commonly known as D.I.T.C., is an American hip hop collective formed in 1992 in New York City. The collective's name derives from the act of seeking out records to sample for production. The collective is composed of Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Big L, O.C., Fat Joe, Buckwild, Showbiz and A.G. Its members have achieved substantial and consistent recognition in underground rap circles, having often collaborated with undiscovered talents and underground hip hop artists alongside the most commercial of rappers.
Arabic hip-hop is a segment of hip hop music performed in the Arabic-speaking world. Due to variety of dialects and local genres which exist in the localities, Arabic hip-hop music may appear very diverse depending on the country of the song. Like most artists of the genre, the hip-hop artists from the Arabic-speaking world are highly influenced by American hip-hop.
DAM is a Palestinian hip-hop group founded in 1999 by brothers Tamer and Suhell Nafar and their friend Mahmoud Jreri from the mixed city of Lod. In 2015 female singer Maysa Daw joined the group. The group's songs are themed on protest, inequality, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and self-criticism of Arab-Israeli society, including the violence and drug dealing within Israel's mixed cities. DAM is the best-known and most famous Palestinian hip hop group; it is also often called the "quintessential Palestinian resistance band".
The culture of Palestinians is influenced by the many diverse cultures and religions which have existed in the historical region of Palestine and the state of Palestine. The cultural and linguistic heritage of Palestinian Arabs along with Lebanese, Syrians, and Jordanians is integral part of Levantine Arab culturePalestinians also have their own dialect of Arabic called the Palestinian dialect.
Palestinian hip hop reportedly started in 1998 with Tamer Nafar's group DAM. These Palestinian youth forged the new Palestinian musical subgenre, which blends Arabic melodies and hip hop beats. Lyrics are often sung in Arabic, Hebrew, English, and sometimes French. Since then, the new Palestinian musical subgenre has grown to include artists in Palestine, Israel, Great Britain, the United States and Canada.
Middle Eastern hip hop is hip hop music and culture originating in the Middle East. It is performed in many languages such as English, local Arabic dialects, Hebrew, Persian, and French. It is highly influenced by American hip hop.
Raja Shehadeh is a Palestinian lawyer, human rights activist and writer. He co-founded the award-winning Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq in 1979. In 2008, he won the Orwell Prize, a British award for political writing, for his book Palestinian Walks.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine:
Khen Rotem, known by his stage name Sagol 59, is an Israeli rapper, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being a Jerusalem-based hip-hop MC and has been hailed as the "Israeli godfather of hip hop." He also writes about music for many Israeli publications, including Haaretz and the Tel Aviv guide City Mouse. He also teaches Rap and Hip Hop classes at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.
Nur ad-Din Masalha commonly known in English as Nur Masalha is a Palestinian writer, historian, and academic.
Shadia Mansour, also known as "the first lady of Arabic hip hop" is a British-Palestinian rapper who performs in Arabic and English. Much of her music revolves around Middle Eastern politics.
Al-Quds Arab Capital of Culture was the name given to Arab Capital of Culture programme in 2009. The programme, organised by UNESCO and the Arab League, is designed to promote Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab world. The 2009 event was the 14th programme since its establishment in 1996.
Mohsen Subhi was a Palestinian composer of classical Arabic music and an arranger of modern Palestinian music and folk song.
Wissam Khodur, better known as Eslam Jawaad, is a rapper of Lebanese-Syrian origin. His debut album, The Mammoth Tusk, was released in 2009.
Victor Gurrola Jr., better known by his stage name Zilla, is an American underground rapper and producer from Houston, Texas. He is known for his style of rap, which combines East Coast hip hop with his native Southern hip hop. In 2010, Zilla became a member of hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs, founded by Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz.
Abu Othaina, popularly known as Shabjdeed, is a Palestinian rapper from Kafr 'Aqab. Based in the city of Ramallah, he has become an influential figure in underground Palestinian hip hop.