Sunday, April 09, 2006

representin' the west (bank)

HindustanTimes: Arab-American rappers find new voice in political hip-hop music focuses on two of the Arab-American rappers, Omar Offendum and Ragtop of Los Angeles who are on the forefront of this trend.

Reading about them reminded me of the Suheir Hammad poem, Taxi, which starts off...

urban warrior i think we're
too used to bottled water and soft ass wipes
street soldier not gettin' taxis and little white ladies
claspin purses ain't all it's about


Hip-hop is definitely spreading and finding different things to say. You also might want to check out the Iron Sheik, a Palestinian-American rapper who I've seen in concert before. His page has song samples, lyrics, show information, and other goodies.

2 comments:

sondjata said...

I think some of the hardest Hip Hop is coming out of areas like these.

I remember when I Picked up the Orisa's A Lo Cubano and was like "THIS is Hip Hop."

You should check out the Welfare Poets. There last CD is hot Not Hip Hop per se, but mad conscious.

Abdul-Halim V. said...

I've heard the Orisas (and have two of their CDs) but I'll definitely be on the look out for the Welfare Poets.