Radio Documentary “Rhymes to Revolution – Soundtrack to the Arab Awakenings” airs July 4

In anticipation of the on-air date for my radio documentary “Rhymes to Revolution: A Soundtrack to the Arab Awakenings,” Beats and Breath will release articles in the next two days to preview some of the amazing material that will be covered during the 30-min feature. In the days following the July 4 air date, Beats and Breath will feature transcriptions of the longer format interviews conducted with members of the Arab hip-hop community, some not included in the documentary, as well as analysis by scholars and analysts on the political implications of the latest developments in the region.

The documentary which is a Free Speech Radio News production with editor Shannon Young and technical producer Rose Ketabchi, will be aired on more than 150 stations in the United States and worldwide. The documentary was funded through the community media fundraising site Spot.us. Thanks to David Cohn at Spot.us for his continued support. And Beats and Breath particularly wants to thank all the friends and supporters who donated their time and money to help fund and promote this documentary, and the valuable work being done by all the members of this burgeoning artistic movement. A longer list of credits will follow the actual posting of the documentary on this site.

An image for the Sami Matar produced song #Jan25 featuring Omar Offendum, The Narcicyst, Ayah, Amir Sulaiman & Freeway

 

The Soundtrack of The Arab Spring

• By FSRN Documentaries

Documentary Description

The so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have been driven by a largely disaffected youth demographic aged 18 to 30 that dominates the populations of every affected country. In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, the youth have demanded an end to the rampant corruption, unemployment, lack of democratic rights, and government policies that stifle freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Echoing these demands have been the representatives of the Arabic hip-hop movement living in both the Arab world and in the Diaspora.

This documentary will examine the rise of Arab hip-hop as a soundtrack to the revolution from its beginnings with Tunisian El General’s song “Rayess La Bled (Head of State)” until today. It will include the voices of rappers in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Diaspora including the creators (Omar Offendum/The Narcycist) of the YouTube viral video #jan25  (pictured above) and the creators of the Egyptian rap video  “Rebel” (Arabian Knightz)

Interviews will be balanced with testimony from relevant political commentators, photographers, producers and voices from the Arab street in order to discuss how Arab hip-hop contributed to revolution and how it is still inspiring artists and protest movements in the US, and demonstrators in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Lebanon – who are still blasting Arab hip-hop anthems from their boomboxes as they fight Gadhafi’s forces in Libya, the security forces in Bahrain and Yemen and the Sectarian state in Lebanon.

 

 

 

 

 

Arab hip-hop’s Don of the Bass – exclusive interview with Johnny Damascus of Fareeq al Atrash

I interviewed John Imad Nasr aka Johnny Damascus -co-founder of Lebanon’s live hip-hop crew Fareeq al Atrash – one month after the release of their self-titled debut album on the Forward Music label last July, 2010.  This abreviated interview appeared in the Jordan-based men’s magazine UMen, and is being re-published after the debut of the Merass Sadek-directed music video featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center hip-hop ambassador’s The Lo Frequency family with members of Fareeq al Atrash after a one-month workshop with The Lo and Lebanon’s hip-hop community last November in Beirut.

Mad respect to John for the time. Beats and Breath will soon release the writer’s edit of  The National article on Fareeq al Atrash’s debut album with interviews with the rest of the band in the weeks to follow.

In his Beirut studio - Johnny Nasr on his Fender (lens: Tanya Traboulsi)

BEIRUT – Johnny D has to be about the most humble figure in the Lebanese hip-hop scene. He’s a veteran of the 961 old-school and one of the architects of the burgeoning new Arab hip-hop sound. And…I’ve never seen John front; dude’s never been anything but kind and welcoming to both fans and critics.

John has witnessed hip-hop scenes come and go over the last 10 years in Beirut, and perhaps it is because of this transience that John has no delusions about Rap 3rabi and its place in the minds of the masses. In a sense Lebanese hip-hop and Johnny D have grown up together, and he’s taken the knocks and bruises and come out better for it.

That’s what makes the debut album of Fareeq al Atrash so special. Up until now, there’s been no real permanence to speak of musically. No real sense of history or continuity with the hip-hop scene here. With the exception of a few heads, Johnny D is showing the youngsters coming up that there is at least one musical forbearer.

The original version of Fareeq al Atrash – “the band name being a pun on famed Arabic singer Fareed Al Atrache” – was a purely funk-driven jam band that had its heyday between 2002 and 2004. Although it was a hint at what was to come, the band – and Johnny – went through some serious soul-searching after the death of percussionist, beat-maker and group co-founder Issam Raad in 2004.

A few months before the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, inspiration struck when Johnny D met local MC, Edouard Abbas aka (El) Edd – who I called the MF DOOM of the Arab world in a November 2007 magazine article. The two struck up an instant friendship and spent the war building the foundations, both lyrically and musically, for Fareeq al Atrash’s current sound.

Now the group includes the band’s original guitarist Ghassan Khayyat aka Goo, two of the scenes strongest lyrical rap talents, Edd and Nasser Shorbaji aka Chyno – and Lebanon’s most gifted beatboxer Fayez Zouheiry aka FZ.

Of course, the unspoken story of Fareeq al Atrash’s debut album release is the backing of Forward Music, the Beirut-based label that features the visionary efforts of co-founder Ghazi Abdel Baki who is more well known for producing musicians like Charbel Rouhana (Oud) and Suffi singer Mustafa Said in what one local critic called “diverse, layered, genre-fusing world music.” (Baki also composed and arranged the horn section on Farreeq al Atrash’s debut album.)

Talking with Johnny D at his apartment in Beirut, he told me that Fareeq al Atrash was respecting Arabic and hip-hop musical traditions by signing with Forward Music.

Fareeq al Atrash in studio (left to right: Edd, Goo, Johnny D, Chyno, FZ) [lens: Tanya Traboulsi)

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BEATS AND BREATH: Let’s talk about something that is key for the growth of any music genre or scene – entrepreneurial risk-taking – I’m talking about label support. There’s your label Forward Music – and another one called Eka3 Records – that represents at least two risk takers. There’s certainly not an Arab hip-hop label. So tell me about Forward?

JONNY D: Let me just mention a record label that is now defunct but that did a lot of good work over the years.

B&B: Incognito?

JOHNNY D: Yeah, Incognito. They did a lot of good work over the years.

B&B: But Incognito was not a real label in the sense that they didn’t give their artists much backing or promotion, they produced, recorded and manufactured limited copies, but it was up to the artist to promote themselves. That’s not a real label.

JONNY D: Sure. It was run out of a CD shop. But the thing with Forward – to put it into context – they are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. In the Arab world, that’s impressive in and of itself.

Everybody at Forward is pretty much veterans from the music scene during the Civil War here and beyond. One of their musicians – Charbel Rouhana -  is like an idol to me. When I was 15 (now 30 years old) I went to one of his concerts just randomly and I was blown away.

His bass player, Aboud Saadi, who I think is one of the founders of Forward Music – he still works closely with them. Wow. For me to be part of a continuity with that musical history, I really felt like it was important for me to get signed with them.

B&B: Well that’s really rare. You don’t hear musicians talking about a label like this.

JOHNNY D: No you don’t. There not your typical kind of label. They really do embody a spirit of independence in a place where it’s hard to navigate. And they’re really trailblazers and go for the gusto. They really couldn’t give a shit for what’s established.

When Ghazi (Abdel Baki) started Forward Music, he’s said it was his mission to get Arabic music or even the pop music phenomenon out of the corn-ball phase that it was in at the time (and is still in to today). He wanted to make authentic, beautiful Arabic music again with totally organic instruments – and with classical arrangements.

I think about his work with Ghada Shbeir and his work with Soumaya Baalbaki. And Forward’s incredible work with Mustafa Said, the visionary Sufi singer. All those records are bold.

It was really flattering for them to consider us as a group. We’re the first hip-hop group they’ve ever signed. Our type of music appeals to a much younger audience than they’re used to – with the exception of Ziad Sahab (a local oud virtuoso).

If authenticity is a part of what makes hip-hop what it is – as Afrika Baambata would say – then I feel like we’re part of a very authentic scene here – of musicians and of like-minded, independent free-thinking people.

B&B: Do you think you’ll end up incorporating more of the T’arab or Arab musical influences into your funk stylings?

JOHNNY D: We actually have experimented with Arab musical strains. And we’re totally open to it. But the only reason we’ve shied away from it is because we kind of fear the gimmicky sound to it. Like as soon as you put some Oud into it or some Takasin (Johnny hums the melody.) Then you’re screwed. I just turn that shit off as soon as I hear it – no offense to anybody out there doing that.

For me Track 4 – Tighla Ma’ezzita – embodies a look to what could be a future sound.

(We listen to the track.)

What you might notice from this track is in a typical 4/4 beat, but it’s syncopated in a way that denotes a dabke (dance style) beat – without suggesting to people immediately that “Oh this is Dabke,” or this is very Lebanese. Somebody from anywhere can still listen to this and be like, “This is straight up hip-hop.”

But this is probably the most “oriental” track of the album – “oriental” with quotation marks of course. It combines funk and hip-hop and a local flavor and our local language.

“]

Fareeq al Atrash in John's Studio. [Lens: Tanya Traboulsi

B&B: Translate the song

JOHNNY D: It means it gets dearer to me, and becomes more important to me with memory – it weighs on my mind more heavily with time.

This song I’m really proud of and it’s “Middle Eastern” enough. I’ll definitely want to include for the future, artists from Forward Music on future records. But it wasn’t in the cards for the songs we chose.

We didn’t want this album to be a gimmick, and we didn’t want to throw it in there to satisfy anybody. We stuck to pretty much what we were best at, and the inclusion of horn arrangements on our album is pretty much an update for our sound I think.

B&B: I see that you pull from all sorts of rare-groove, and jazz elements for the backbone of Fareeq’s music. You pull from guys like Roy Ayers, Miles Davis, Funkadelic…name some other artists you’re pulling from.

JOHNNY D:  Man…Fela Kuti is one of the biggest influences both in terms of the music itself and in terms of music being political activism that’s real and can make a difference. I know we haven’t made much of a difference yet, but it’s my dream to be able to be part of a movement to emancipate and empower my people here.

B&B: And with respect to your people here at some point as you gain power and influence with your music, you’re inevitably going to come up against the powers that be. Especially if your lyrics are political – as they clearly are. Are you prepared for that – and what could happen in regards to things like censorship or jail time?

JOHNNY D: I am actually worried right now because a lot of lyrics on this record are not entirely acceptable to polite society. Although it’s important to note that there is no cursing on the record. But there’s just a lot of controversy and a lot of content that could offend certain people of certain preoccupations.

So I’m still waiting to see what happens…or are they just going to ignore us?

B&B: Ignore or censor? Perhaps ignoring is the greater of the two in this case?

JOHNNY D: Well trivialization is a very powerful weapon of any establishment. And as it stands, I don’t know if we are being ignored or aren’t being noticed yet. I don’t know.

Not sure if I should say this honestly or not, but we get a lot of attention from media outlets that we openly criticize on our record. I honestly think it’s either very big of them to continue to do stories on us even though we slam them, or I’m not sure if they’ve actually noticed yet.

B&B: You’ve said Philadelphia’s rap heroes – the live hip-hop crew The Roots, consciously inspired you and that you’re trying to be an extension of the certain musical traditions.

JOHNNY D: They were pretty much THE catalyst for what got me listening to hip-hop very seriously as a genre around 1996. I was more of a jazz or funk dude who also loved hip-hop. To me that was kind of like what my elitist, hipster, bourgeois understanding of music was all about.

Hip-hop – I guess it goes without saying – is just an extension of those traditions.

B&B: That’s a clear reference that you’re trying to make?

JOHNNY D: For sure. Even in our music, we try to introduce that continuity locally to our audience. A lot of people here don’t draw that conclusion. People here don’t see this music as an expression of Black American music past. They don’t see it as an extension of the music because they might not like hip-hop or maybe they don’t relate to it. Or the media spins it in a way that gives them a bad impression or a superficial understanding of what hip-hop is in a way.

B&B: But do you think people really care about these linkages at the end of the day?

JOHNNY D: (laughing) No I don’t. I think my job is to make them care, and to make them feel that this type of music is just that — it’s music. And we’re trying to pay our dues to the culture ourselves.

However, if you listen to the first song of the record – Njoom ‘Am Te’rab – during the last 3rd of the song is basically us reinterpreting the Sugar Hill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight.’

This is where it started and it – ‘Rappers Delight’- was the first song to break radio airwaves in the United States, and we hope that this song will kind of break ground like that as well.

Album cover to Fareeq al Atrash's self-titled debut album on Forward Music

Profile: Hadeel Assali co-founder of Houston Palestine Film Festival

In March 2010, my short documentary (co-directed by Eli Habib) Life from the BBC about a young Palestinian hip-hop crew (I-Voice) from the Bourj al Barajneh Camp in south Beirut, premiered at South by Southwest Music Festival. Shortly after that in May 2010, Life from the BBC scored a late entry into Houston, Texas’ most prestigious young film festival – the Houston Palestine Film Festival.

Hadeel Assali at her mom's house

Hadeel Assali, the co-founder and director of the HPFF, is one of the primary reasons that this festival has been so successful. Beats and Breath sat down with Hadeel after last year’s festival to talk to her about her plans with the festival and what is in store for this young aspiring filmmaker’s immediate future. We feel it’s an interview that is perfect to post in anticipation of the 5th annual Houston Palestine Film Festival this May 13-21, 2011.

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HOUSTON – I’m from Houston, Texas. When I tell people in Beirut I’m from Houston, rarely are there lukewarm reactions, and for good reasons; Houston is among the fattest cities in the world; the capital for the oil and petrochemical industry; the most corporate town in America. Of course the Bush family has played the biggest role in the negative stereotypes of Houston (and Texas) as a haven for simpleton cowboys with global power ambitions.

Houston is, however, a resilient city filled with a diversity of immigrant communities that all claim the city as their own. Large communities of East Indian, Pakistani, Vietnamese, African, Caribbean and of course Mexican immigrants and émigrés from New Orleans are helping to redefine the reputation of Houston as being White, conservative and racist.

Hadeel Assali is a Palestinian cultural activist raised in Houston who knows all too well the need to redefine stereotypes of her community. Assali is the co-founder and executive director of the Houstone Palestine Film Festival, a four year-old (at the time of posting – 5-year old) festival that Houstonians voted the Best Film Festival for 2009 (and 2010). Like many Arab immigrants in the US, she’s spent a lifetime combating stereotypes and building community bridges. It’s obvious to anyone who meets Assali, she is no nonsense and it is her straightforward approach to issues that endears her to even the Rebel-flag wearing southern white boys.

I met Assali a couple of years ago after she helped bring the well-known Palestinian (via Brooklyn, NY) poet Suheir Hammad to Houston in the early part of 2008. I was always impressed with her ability to organize within many communities, and the HPFF is a testament to her ability to organize in an environment where Arabs and Muslims have become targets in a post-September 11/post-Iraq America.

Assali told one local magazine, “The first year of the Houston Palestine Film Festival was almost an experiment. After three successful years, we know we have an obligation to the continued growth of the HPFF. For Palestinians and Arabs, it is important to see positive images of ourselves on screen.”

And grow it has. The HPFF maintains audiences of 400 people at screenings and does them at one of the most corporate-financed cultural institutions in Houston – the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

Hadeel Assali with M-1 from Dead Prez

In 2010 “we felt compelled to open the festival with a spotlight on Gaza and one of the worst atrocities on the Palestinian people while also highlighting the persistence of the human spirit as you could see in the documentary ‘Aisheen [Still Alive in Gaza].’ We rounded off the night with a discussion with M-1 of the (of hip-hop crew Dead Prez), who traveled to Gaza last summer with the Viva Palestina convoy,” Assali says.

The following is an interview I conducted with Hadeel in the weeks following last year’s festival. It’s both informative and revealing, and in the tradition of Studs Terkel – I always believe it’s best to let the interviewee peel back the layers in their own words.

INTERVIEW

BEATS AND BREATH:  Explain the genesis of the film festival in Houston?

HADEEL ASSALI: It began with inspiration from friends in Chicago who began the Chicago Palestine Film Festival and suggested that I start one in Houston. I happened to attend a programming meeting for Voices Breaking Boundaries (VBB), a non-profit organization in Houston dedicated to addressing social justice issues through the arts, in the late summer of 2006 – after the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon. The VBB folks were eager to do something to address the devastation in Palestine and Lebanon. I suggested a Palestine Film Festival and they loved the idea. It was pulled together with donations from the community and several volunteers in a very short timeframe. We walked into the first night of the first Houston Palestine Film Festival expecting 50-100 people; instead we found a packed house of nearly 300 every night of the festival. This sent us a clear message that the Houston Palestine Film Festival (HPFF) is needed and each year that message is reaffirmed.

BB: You told Electronic Intifada in 2008 – “The Houston Palestine Film Festival’s aim is to share the Palestine that is not shown in mainstream media” – how has that view of Palestine been affected in your own life in the four years you’ve been hosting the festival?

HADEEL: Although many Palestinians are loathe to admit it, I believe the mainstream media has affected our psyche in a very negative way – to the point that many are even ashamed of admitting they are Palestinian because of the constant stereotypes of us as either terrorists or helpless victims. This is something we aim to change with the HPFF – it is important for us to have a say in our image (it is OUR image after all) and what is displayed on either the big screen or television screens. We are a young community in the United States that is not yet at the point where we can affect mainstream media. However, we can create our own films and our own festivals where audiences will see who we truly are and hear our stories and perspectives.

Attendees at the 2010 Houston Palestine Film Festival Lens: Kris Sears

Perhaps the most encouraging thing has been the response of both Palestinian youth and elders. The elders have told us that we have given them hope that the story of Palestine will not die with them, that our generation will keep it alive. Several young Palestinians have told us that it is very exciting for them to see themselves depicted in such a positive light during events where people from many different cultures and backgrounds come to hear the story and express solidarity with the Palestinian people. These things alone have given me the motivation to continue with this approach.

BB: Given the groundbreaking nature of some of the films shown over the last 4 years, what film do you think caused the most openly critical debate both in the audience and after the festival ended?

HADEEL: That is a tough question. I would have to say it was “Maria’s Grotto,” a film by Buthayna Khoury that addresses the issue of honor killings in Palestinian society (screened in 2010). We had a panel discussion with the director, one of the women in the film, and several other women from other communities that face this similar social problem. Perhaps it was the introspective nature of the film and addressing an issue that we typically shy away from for fear of reinforcing stereotypes, but the audience was very engaged and wanted to continue the discussion for longer than the time we had allotted. Of course we also got comments from some questioning why we would screen such a film that “makes us look bad,” but I think it says a lot about us as a people to be willing to address social ills (and every society has social ills) despite the external forces that are trying to keep us from even existing as a normal society.

Sabreena da Witch from Al-Lyd now living in Baltimore

BB: You’ve shown the hip-hop documentary ‘Slingshot’ and have featured hip-hop performances over the last two years including performances by Palestinian hip-hop acts like DAM (featured in Slingshot) and Sabreena da Witch. How important is hip-hop in framing the issues facing Palestinians?

HADEEL:  Hip-Hop has become a global movement and language that has enabled the Palestinians that have embraced it to connect with people all over the world who speak that language. Some people express themselves through music, poetry, film, writing, direct action – hip-hop is another form of expression that is not only educational for the audiences, but also a positive outlet for Palestinians like DAM and Sabreena da Witch who are living in a racist society. It is very important for all of us to find an outlet so that we do not let the anger and frustration about what is happening to our people fester inside of us. To find a form of expression that allows our voices to be heard while educating others – what could be better?

BB: Do you think the scope of your festival is too specialized or do you think it should be more inclusive of Arab cinema in general?

HADEEL: It is funny you ask this, we seem to be faced with this question almost every year.  In an ideal world, it would not be a big deal either way. However we are not in an ideal world; we are in a world where Palestine is not on the map and Palestinians are fighting for their mere existence as a nation of people with basic human rights and self-determination. The Houston Palestine Film Festival is more than just an arts organization that screens films; our intention is also to make a statement that we do exist as a nation of people regardless of what current world maps say. We also do not have a real government that can provide resources and support for Palestinian filmmakers. While HPFF is not at the point where we can do much more than provide a venue and audience for Palestinian films, one day there will hopefully be a Palestinian film network created to build the industry in a way a nation with a supportive government might.

It is also worth noting that we have featured nights highlighting other Arab countries. One year we did a special tribute to Iraq and another year we featured Lebanon. We hope to do more of this in the future depending on our resources, but for now we do plan to stay focused on Palestinian cinema (because if we don’t do it, who will?).

BB: Has there been any fallout from Jewish groups since the festival started who are quick to claim that any critical statements about Israel is tantamount to anti-Semitism?

HADEEL: I am almost disappointed to say no. In fact, I believe we have had a positive influence on the Jewish Film Festival here in Houston, which has recently screened “Ajami” and “Lemon Tree.”

BB: What are you hoping for the festival’s future?

HA: I am hoping that HPFF becomes a permanent Houston institution that retains its status as the Houston Press’ “Best Film Festival in Houston” (we won this award in 2009 [and 2010]). I would like to see a paid staff, our own space, and an extensive film library that would be a resource for other local organizations/film groups, teachers, etc. I would also like to see myself step down from a leadership position so that we do not become like a typical Arab regime – I know this sounds silly, but the real concern is to ensure the festival’s sustainability without becoming dependent on any one personality. Also, I would like to see the festival increase the cross-pollinating with other non-Arab communities in Houston – especially those that face similar issues as Palestinians.

BB: What are some of your highlights the last 4 years?

HADEEL: We have had some incredible films – last year we screened “Amreeka” to a full house at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and even had to turn nearly 50 people away. We had the director Cherien Dabis in attendance, which the audience absolutely loved. My personal favorite things are, as I mentioned before, the cross-cultural events. One of the most beautiful evenings I remember was a night at the El Dorado Ballroom, a historic ballroom in Houston, and a joint poetry night with Suheir Hammad – Palestinian poet – and several local African-American poets associated with our partners for the evening, The Awakenings Movement.

Free Palestine CD covers - Lens by Kris Sears©