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.
Kareem Dennis, better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business. He would return in 2008, with appearances on BBC Radio and at various festivals and concerts including the BBC Electric Proms, Glastonbury, T In The Park and Oxegen in the buildup to his first solo album Dear Listener, as well as collaborating with other British musicians to form the supergroup Mongrel. He released his second solo album, Soundtrack to the Struggle, independently on in 2011.
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. 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".
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.
Suheir Hammad(Arabic: سهير حماد) is an American poet, author, and political activist.
Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians. Forming part of the broader genre of Arabic literature, contemporary Palestinian literature is often characterized by its heightened sense of irony and the exploration of existential themes and issues of identity. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile, loss, and love and longing for homeland are also common.
Udi Aloni is an Israeli American filmmaker, writer, visual artist and political activist whose works focus on the interrelationships between art, theory, and action.
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.
"Freedom for Palestine" is a song by OneWorld, a collective of musicians, artists, campaign groups and charities working together to "raise awareness of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the resulting poverty and other human rights abuses." The song, released on 3 July 2011, is a compilation number, similar to "Free Nelson Mandela" or "Feed the World". Its lyrics mention "catastrophes, refugees, crimes against humanity, prison camps, occupation, human rights and justice."
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
Ilana Weaver, more commonly known by their stage name Invincible, is a Jewish, American-Israeli rapper born in Champaign, Illinois.
Lisa Taraki is an Afghan-born Palestinian journalist, teacher and sociologist. She is an associate professor of sociology at Birzeit University in the West Bank and former Dean of its graduate students. She is the co-founder of the university's Institute of Women's Studies and founding Director of the doctoral program in social sciences. Taraki is also the co-founder of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a campaign that spearheaded the BDS movement and advocates for academic and cultural boycotts of Israel until it stops what they see as violations of the Palestinians' human rights. She has also served as the director of the board of trustees for Al Haq.
Aja Monet, , is an American contemporary poet, writer, lyricist and activist based in Los Angeles, California.
Rafeef Ziadah is a Palestinian-Canadian poet and human rights activist who currently lives in London. She released the spoken word album, Hadeel.
Najwan Darwish ; born December 8, 1978, in Jerusalem, is an Arabic-language poet. The New York Review of Books has described him as "one of the foremost Arabic-language poets of his generation".
