MARSM UK and SOAS Concert Series present: 20 Years of Palestinian Hip Hop – In Conversation with Tamer Nafar and Mahmood Jrere. 

*This event is in conjunction with #MASRMDigital’s Music Film of the Month, ‘Slingshot Hip Hop’ is streaming for free from April 05-19.*

Join us as we look back at the fascinating trajectory of hip hop in Palestine, the beginnings of the alternative music scene, and the changes that accompanied the music in the last two decades. We will be exploring the spaces of performance, creative tools available for artists, the role of social media, and the evolution of the music scene through a lively discussion and insights from two of the most established Palestinian artists, Tamer Nafar and Mahmood Jrere.

Working together since the late 1990s, Tamer and Mahmood were two of the founding members of the iconic rap trio DAM, the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to shape rap in Arabic. Struck by the uncanny resemblance of the reality of the streets in a Tupac video to the streets in their own neighborhood in Lyd, the trio were inspired to tell their stories through hip hop. In 2015, the band was officially joined by Palestinian musician, composer and artist Maysa Daw. 

Mahmood Jrere 

As well as his involvement in DAM, Mahmood Jrere is also an independent artist, music entrepreneur, and the co-founder of the Palestine Music Expo. Mahmood released his debut album Rhythm of the Tribe in 2016, and the past year saw him release four singles.

Tamer Nafar 

The leader and founding member of DAM, Tamer Nafar is also an independent artist, actor, screenwriter and social activist. He released a stream of DIY and collaborative productions in 2020, including the tongue-in-cheek ‘Ba’do Fi Roh (Still Got Soul)’.

Brief description of film: 

‘Slingshot Hip Hop’ is an award-winning documentary that portrays the Palestinian hip hop scene in the early 2000s, and sheds light on the lives of its main protagonists. 

Braiding together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine 48, the film spotlights the power of hip hop as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and social injustice. From internal checkpoints and segregation walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young artists breaking through the borders that separate them and fighting the constructs that alienate them.

Stream the film from April 05-19 via www.marsm.co.uk