Cite: McDonald, Imaginaries of Exile and Emergence in Israeli Jewish and Palestinian Hip Hop

McDonald, David A. “Imaginaries of Exile and Emergence in Israeli Jewish and Palestinian Hip Hop.” TDR: The Drama Review 57.3 (2013): 69-87.

 

URL:  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_drama_review/v057/57.3.mcdonald.htm

 

Extract

Anat Halachmi’s acclaimed 2003 documentary, Channels of Rage, begins with a furious argument between two prominent Israeli hip hop groups: DAM, a Palestinian-Israeli crew from Lyd comprised of Tamer Nafar, Suheil Nafar, and Mahmoud Jrere; and TACT, a collection of Jewish-Israeli rappers led by Subliminal (Kobi Shimoni) and Shadow (Yoav Eliasi). Meeting in a dark alley in Tel Aviv, the groups nearly come to blows over recent comments made by the two leaders, Tamer Nafar and Shimoni. Once collaborative and nurturing, the relationship between the two young rappers quickly dissolved as each began to embody contrasting political ideologies within the ongoing al-Aqsa intifada. Coming to terms with the violence on the streets of Tel Aviv and Jenin, both artists retreated from their once supportive relationship, based in a mutual love of hip hop, into the rigid, uncompromising nationalisms of Israel and Palestine.