Thought provokers: Reality rap

They call themselves thought-provokers, even activists, but with no political affiliations.

Meet a new breed of rappers, for whom freedom of expression knows no bounds here in Dubai. Part of an underground hip-hop scene, they go about airing views that might not be welcomed in their home countries.

Raising awareness

Fouad Abdul Hadi is raising awareness on the plight of war victims in Palestine, where he grew up. Witness to the atrocities of the Jenin massacre in 2002, Hadi, 14 then, began to write about the mayhem that surrounded him.

“I thought the only conflict in the Arab world was in Palestine but when I came to Dubai, I learnt about the humanitarian crises in Darfur and Somalia,'' said Hadi.
“After seeing that people don't care any more about what happens in Palestine, I decided to remind people of this and other forgotten regions.''

Check out the video excerpts of the interview

Hadi's producer, Jabbar or Hani Khateeb, is also a Palestinian but he has never been to Palestine. “I first learnt about my Palestinian identity from my grandfather,'' he said, adding that he has lived in many parts of the world, including Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, Chicago and now Dubai.

The 25-year-old producer and rapper was arrested in Chicago when, as a student at the University of Illinois, he spoke at an anti-Bush rally.

“I was in a country where freedom of speech was obliged by law but I still had to go through what I did,'' he said.

Their teammate, Lucky Swerte, is a 25-year-old Swiss producer and rapper who was born in Indonesia. “The economic collapse of Indonesia in 1997-98 provoked me to write music that captures how I feel about corruption in my country.''

The music that these artistes have been producing is available on tapes and CDs and can be downloaded from www.myspace.com/therecipedxb