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Revisiting the Third Rail: Arab rappers negotiate revolution
THIS WAS THE ONE AND ONLY EPISODE OF AN INTERVIEW SERIES (‘On the Real’) FEATURED ON WORLD HIP HOP MARKET (MARCH, 2013). THIS ARTICLE FEATURES AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRODUCER AHMED KHOUJA WHO PRODUCED THE ARAB RAP COMPILATION ‘KHAT THALETH’ (“THIRD RAIL”) THAT WAS RELEASED WORLDWIDE IN THE SPRING OF 2013. IT WAS UNFORTUNATELY…
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Red Bull Music Academy Session Kuwait w/Bei Ru, Omar Offendum, Hasan Hujairi +
It was a dynamite weekend filled with the best musical prospects from Kuwait at the first ever RMBA Kuwait Session (January 30-31, 2015). Watch the short film directed/produced by Jackson Allers and edited/co-shot by Timothy Carr of TJC Films.
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Debut Solo Album: Palestinian MC – Muqata’a aka Boikutt – comes of age
Muqata’a aka Boikutt – has been at the forefront of the Palestinian Rap scene since the mid-2000’s. One of the original members of the seminal rap crew Ramallah Underground, he has just released his long-awaited solo album, Hayawan Nateq; it’s an album that was 2-years in the making, and BEATS AND BREATH is proud to…
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Chico and the Man: reviving the vinyl tradition in Beirut!
Diran Mardirian is the owner of Video Chico, a dvd shop that was established as a record store in 1964 by his father Katchik. It was once a mecca for vinyl collectors that continued to sell vinyl up until 1982 when the shop "shook off the dust of the Israeli invasion and switched to videos.…
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One Board at a Time: Mohammad Zakaria – Jordan’s skateboarding pioneer
MOHAMMAD ZAKARIA IS ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF JORDAN’S SKATE SCENE AND A VETERAN OF THE PAN-ARAB SKATEBOARDING SCENE. A PALESTINIAN-JORDANIAN WHO BASICALLY ADHERES TO THE FIELD OF DREAMS SCHOOL OF THOUGHT – “IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME” – ZAKARIA CO-FOUNDED PHILADELPHIA SKATEBOARDS IN 2009 ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET AND THE HOPE THAT…
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Beirut’s blues-rock revival – The Wanton Bishops
IN DECEMBER OF 2012 – BEATS AND BREATH SAT DOWN WITH WHAT HAS TURNED OUT TO BE BEIRUT’S HOTTEST MUSICAL EXPORT, THE BLUES-ROCK REVIVAL DUO THE WANTON BISHOPS – NADER MANSOUR AND EDDY GHOSSEIN. THE INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED RIGHT BEFORE THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THEIR FIRST ALBUM – SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON. AS I…
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Profile on Zeid Hamdan: “A musician without vision is no use!”
Originally posted on BEATS AND BREATH: Beats and Breath features this exclusive interview with Beirut-based musician, producer, composer, and arranger Zeid Hamdan, the pioneer of Lebanon’s alternative music scene. (Editor’s note: In the 2 years since this was published – it is still a relevant discussion of the future of alternative music in Lebanon.) Zeid…
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Rolling Stone Magazine ME article for ‘Voice of the Streets’ event
CAIRO – Last month, 12 of the region’s best-known Arab rappers were set to perform together at a public youth center in the swanky central Cairo district of Zamalek. Organizers billed the Voice of the Streets event as a concert to remind people about the continued struggle for freedom of expression in the wake of…
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Live from Beirut….Lazzy Lung the Arab alt-rock Olympians!
BEIRUT – The 4-piece Lebanese alternative rock outfit Lazzy Lung released their debut album in late 2010, and by all accounts they’re the hardest working crew in the Arab alternative rock scene looking to win their fans over – one listener at a time. Beats and Breath sat down with the band’s co-founder and frontman…
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Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B: These are the breaks – Jazzie B’s sermon in Beirut
Trevor Beresfor Romeo aka Jazzie B, the legendary DJ, music producer and founding member of the musical collective Soul II Soul was in Beirut in March for a musical workshop with 44 musicians and producers from around the Arab world. BEATS AND BREATH sat down with Jazzie B to discuss music, his life philosophies and…
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Independent Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan arrested over song – “General Suleiman”
Blogger and music scholar Angie Nassar writes on the Beirut-based website NOWLebanon about the government detention and subsequent release of Zeid Hamdan – the self-described “gardener” of the independent music scene in Lebanon, co-founder of the electro-Arab fusion act Soap Kills and his most recent musical venture Zeid and the Wings. (We featured Zeid in…
AltCity, Alternative Music in Lebanese Culture, AltMedia Experience, Angie Nassar, arab awakenings, arab spring, Censorship, Feel Notes, General Suleiman, Gigi Roccati, Hamra, Independent Arabic Music, Jad Baaklini, lebanon, NOWLebanon, Omar el Fil, Revolution, Self-Censorship, Soap Kills, Walad, Zeid and the Wings, Zeid Hamdan -
TIME MAGAZINE: Syrian Rappers Urge … Restraint? Protesters Find Little Support in Popular Music
This is an article written by Rania Abouzeid for TIME Magazine ©. I am reposting it here to frame the controversy that has erupted over this article, which was a spin-off to a post put on Greg Schick’s website World Hip-Hop Market.com. The post was about the stance on the Syrian unrest from a good…
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Movements.org – Hip Hop’s Responses to the Arab Awakening
WHILE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS GOTTEN MUCH OF THE CREDIT FOR GALVANIZING THE UPRISINGS SWEEPING THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (MENA), A NEW RADIO DOCUMENTARY BY SOCIAL CRITIC AND MUSIC JOURNALIST – JACKSON ALLERS – IS PAYING RESPECT TO ANOTHER INFLUENTIAL MEDIUM IN THE REGION, ONE THAT HAS ARTICULATED THE FRUSTRATIONS OF THE MARGINALIZED AND…
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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. In the days following the July 4 air date, I will feature transcriptions of…
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Arab Revolutions, Arab Spring, Arab hip-hop: Radio Documentary fundraising pitch
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…
#jan25, Amir Sulaiman, Arab Hip-Hop, Arab revolutions, Arabian Knightz, Ayah, Deeb, DJ Lethal Skillz, Egyptian hip-hop, Free Speech Radio News, Freeway, Immortal Entertainment, Johnny Damascus, Laith Majali, Malikah, Nasser Kalaji, Nomadic Wax, omar offendum, Paul Salem, Radio Documentary, Ramcess, Spot.us, The Narcycist -
Israel – Gil Scott-Heron Boycott
WHEN black revolutionary poet/singer/author Gil Scott-Heron canceled his tour date in Tel Aviv last summer – Beats and Breath discussed why it has made such a big difference to people who have been inspired by his music for decades.
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Profile: Hadeel Assali co-founder of Houston Palestine Film Festival
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…
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The Paranoids – Omar Offendum, The Narcicyst & Ragtop – take over Texas
In mid-March every year, more than 1,800 musical acts convene in Austin, Texas for the biggest music industry festival in the world. An Arab rap super group hit the stage at South by Southwest this year – the first of its kind. Made up of veteran rappers Omar Offendum, Ragtop and The Narcicyst, there’s a…
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Beats and Breath interviewed by Re-Volt Radio
Hass Dennaoui is a unique character – someone who has decided to break out of the confines of his geographical situation to embark on a world-wide media adventure. Hass runs Re-Volt Radio – a new experiment in media that features interviews with the brightest talents in Arab hip-hop and beyond – although he’s not limited to any one…
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Exclusive interview with Mochilla’s B+ and Eric Coleman
After the successful showing of Mochilla’s latest documentary bonanza – “Timeless” – at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Beats and Breath features this exclusive interview with Mochilla’s Brian Cross aka B+ and Eric Coleman during their recent trip to Beirut and Amman.
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Bye-bye Crate Sessions – a talk with Serge Yared
This is the unedited story written by Jackson Allers for the Beirut-based news and culture website – NOW Lebanon – which I feel captures more of the spirit of the Crate Sessions and the editorial philosophy of Beats and Breath. This is a story about the special nature of a Beirut musical experiment that was…
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Brooklyn Beats to Beirut Streets – Pt. 1
In honor of this legendary night of hip-hop in Beirut in January 2008 – Immortal Entertainment, Phonosapien Productionz and Beats and Breath Productions brings you the Brooklyn Beats to Beirut Streets Redux @ Basement on Sunday, January 10! Send an email to me for more information on the January 10 show: jacksonallers@gmail.com In a…
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