G-Spot, Hummus and Mushroom

This was a lot of info to take it in. At the beginning of the semester, I went through a browsing frenzy of Palestinian Rap. I found a lot of great content - both on the general, existential grievances of  Palestinian life and on the pursuit of peace. I didn't run into much Israeli rap. I didn't get the whole picture. This additional dimension to the rap scene really complicates things. In the case of the protagonists of "Channel of Rage," Palestinian and Israeli rap reveals (nearly parallel to life on the "streets") a public, yet political rhetoric that exists between and divides Israeli and Palestinian popular culture. The movie guide does us a favor when it puts the words of each rapper next to the other. As one article points out, these icons have a profound, impressional effect on their respective youth cultures. This is far from surprising, seeing as how the similarly representative icons of American hip-hop have in many ways changed American youth (and general) culture.

The Tablet Magazine piece was especially interesting (and at times hysterical). As the Ha'aretz article too argues, Israeli rap has perhaps missed its mark or misinterpreted its place in the context of its attempt to emulate American rap (with its anti-establishment, anti-police, poverty, racism, etc themes). The article goes on to quote an Israeli rapper, "Here, you see a policeman chase someone and you’re going to help the policeman, because that person [running away] is probably a terrorist or a purse-snatcher." Contrast that with this. Israeli rap seems to be less about relieving potentially violent stress and more about legitimizing daily life and, when relevant or pertinent, justifying Israel's politics. Although, of course, there are exceptions.

Subliminal, one of "Channel of Rage's" stars, is seen by many as one of the original Israeli rappers, yet now many rappers see him as selling out for fame and money. Lukach (pictured below) is one of these rappers. (If you didn't get a chance to read about Lukach and Subliminal's first encounter at the G-Spot club, I suggest doing so. Hilarious.) Lukach apparently received his call to fame as a result of the response to his parody of this video. Also hilarious. He also did a parody of one of Subliminal's songs, but I couldn't find it. Lukach's other music videos are really funny. I think he gives the Israeli rap scene a really fresh, ironic spin. Not that I really know "vat" I'm talking about. 

Equally interesting is another rapper introduced to the mix in the Tablet piece, Nechi Nech. I checked him out because Lukach himself refers to Nechi Nech as "a world-class rapper, great not only by local standards but even in comparison to MCs from New York or L.A." Of course, when you hear a praise like that, you've gotta check 'em out. I tell ya, this guy is really something else. Good shit. So far, he and Lukach are my favorites. Unfortunately, I have no idea what they're saying.