Palestinian Gandhis Part V: Lyrical Resistance

Resistance Hip-Hop in the Arab world has taken off in recent years. Pioneers in this area include Palestinian groups like DAM who have used English, Arabic and Hebrew lyrics to convey messages of resistance through hip-hop. In this installment of our "Palestinian Gandhis" series, we introduce you to the DARG team, a Palestinian hip-hop group from Gaza that raps about resistance. In this video interview with the group, they discuss what hip-hop means to them and the struggles of being hip-hop artists under occupation and in Palestinian society. Filmmaker Pam Bailey explains further:

Hip-hop – which includes both rap and breakdancing – first gained prominence in American ghettos among inner-city youth, who inventively made “something out of little or nothing” to express their gritty reality. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that hip-hop spread to other regions where youth struggle to define their identity in the face of adversity. Rap is like spoken-word poetry, a torrent of free-association – with no filters or concern for political correctness. It’s this raw, “uncut” characteristic, its fans say, which allows rap to speak directly to the soul.

For all of these reasons, rap has taken root in the Gaza Strip as well – but not without a fight. Because of its Western roots, rap is scorned – and even condemned -- by many in the conservative, traditional culture of the Strip. In 2009, the Hamas government even shut a show down. But despite – or perhaps because of – this “go against the grain” attitude, rap is coming into its own in Gaza. And the band featured in this video – the DARG (Da Arabian Revolutionary Guys) Team – is starting to get attention internationally as well. Even if you don’t like rap, and few outside the “X Generation” in America do, I encourage you to watch this video. The youth of Palestine will largely determine its future since in Gaza they account for more than half of its population, and rap puts their hopes, dreams and angst into sharp focus.

Unlike most of the unsung heroes featured in this series, the DARG Team recently managed to leave the Strip and tour Europe. When I first met the band in the Winter of 2010, they had been trying unsuccessfully for months to leave Gaza to tour. The band had been “adopted” by filmmakers Nicolas Wadimoff and Beatrice Guelpa of Switzerland, when they visited Gaza the previous year to shoot their documentary, “Aisheen” (Still Alive in Gaza). When the two journalists returned home, they linked the DARG Team with rappers there and a partnership was born. That’s why I work so hard to persuade artists, businesspeople, teachers, etc. to travel to Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine; once they are face to face with the people, and discover the talent and energy there, they become champions. Not to be defeated, the DARG Team and their Swiss counterparts staged a “virtual concert,” which I was fortunate enough to observe. The team performed in Gaza City, the Swiss performed in Geneva, and the two were hooked together via satellite. The connection was a bit choppy at times, but it was strong in many other ways.

A year later, their European partners were successful, and the DARG Team got the necessary visas to get them out of Gaza. If you need any other proof of the transformative power of freedom, this is it. Prior to their six-month tour, the team’s lyrics were dominated by death and destruction – particularly after the 2008/9 war. (The song “23 Days” is featured in the video as an example of the team’s pre-tour lyrics.) Following the tour, when they readily returned to Gaza, their songs were about pride and identity. (It is a myth that all Gazans want to permanently escape. If they were allowed to come and go like most of us can, the majority would ultimately return home.) They had witnessed the solidarity of many others in the global community, and tasted what the world had to offer. The post-tour lyrics of "Heads Up" reflect that new, optimistic outlook. Listen for yourself:

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