WOMAD

DAM

From Palestine

Palestinian rap telling it like it is
"It's our life, it's our window. Whatever has happened to us, we think about it, we write it." Tamer Nafar's explanation of his musical motivation - to Time magazine, no less - is bare and direct. As one third of celebrated Palestinian rap outfit DAM, Tamer has found great inspiration in Public Enemy commander-in-chief Chuck D's comment that rap is "the black CNN". Certainly DAM tell it like it is for their own people as they report on the difficulties, the injustices and the everyday violence of life both in the occupied territories and for Palestinians living in Israel. With to-the-bone indictments like their best-known song Meen Erhabe (Who's The Terrorist?), they may have been on the scene for over a decade but, as long as the conflict continues, so too will their raps of protest. And while DAM is shorthand for Da Arabian MCs, the name holds further significance - 'dam' means 'eternity' in Arabic and 'blood' in Hebrew.
(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2010. Image by Steve Sabella Brownwall)

www.dampalestine.com

DAM's » Myspace Page