Slingshot Hip Hop

As far as I’m concerned, Nas is right about hip hop in this country. Hip hop is dead because it has lost the social relevance that once made it a powerful force in people’s lives. But this isn’t the case in Palestine. Witness Slingshot Hip Hop, directed by Jackie Reem Salloum. It is the powerful story of a new musical culture growing in Palestinian communities: inside Israel, in the West Bank, and most remarkably, the beseiged Gaza Strip. Salloum documents hip hop’s growth among and occuppied and opressed people. Their music is influenced as much by Tupac Shakur as it is by Mahmoud Darwish, and it is shown as a politically powerful tool, uplifting communities, inspiring young people, and communicating the realities of life as a Palestinian to people around the world. It is no surprise that Slingshot Hip Hop was an official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. 

You can find links to each group featured in the film here, and download the soundtrack here. Also see the trailer here.

I would recommend starting with DAM and their classic “Meen Erhabi” (Who’s the terrorist?). Listen to it (below) and tell me American hip hop sounds alive in comparison…

M.I.A. and Nas – Paper Planes Made You Look (Terry Urban Remix)

This is far and away my favorite M.I.A. remix, courtesy of Terry Urban and Mick Boogie from the Press Play Fashion Forward Blog. 

M.I.A. and Nas – Paper Planes Made You Look (Terry Urban Remix)

Nas – Association (feat. Stic Man of Dead Prez)

Nas – Association (feat. Stic Man)

Nas – I’m On

Took out the annoying DJ Khaled intro/outro. That dude does not represent Arabs well at all. Other than that, another banger:

Nas – I’m On

Nas – Black President

Bill Richardson on the cut:

Nas – Black President

Nasir Jones, meet Bob James.

Bob, Nasir. Nasir, Bob.

Bob James is an interesting dude. He’s got a very unique style of jazz, and one that has been particularly amenable to sampling. So its no surprise that King E came along and remixed him with Nas. The album is called Bob’s Son, and I have no idea who King E is or when he made it, but its a fun trip.

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(Cop the album and its art after the cut)

Remixes are useful in two ways…