In this week's reading we read about Israeli rapper Subliminal, his rap partner the Shadow, Palestinian rapper MC Tamer, and Israeli leftist rocker Aviv Geffen. The whole point of this reading was to show how the second intifada made an impact in shaping the identities of these musicians. All of these musicians are attempting to spread awareness about the political unrest in the area, and hope to create a message that will invoke a change in the way citizens of that part of the world look at the ongoing turmoil. In the reading it is stated that Aviv Geffen would write a lot about his dissatisfaction with the government and how everything was being handled. To begin, I will describe what exactly the second intifada was in case any readers out there are unaware.
The second intifada was "an unprecedented series of Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, including deadly suicide bombings and shootings. The violence began in September 2000 following the disintegration of the Camp David negotiations. It claimed approximately a thousand Israeli lives and wounded countless others". Following the second intifada, the friendship between Subliminal and MC Tamer essentially fell apart due to the mixed emotions felt by the two of them. Reading the quotes from the two of them makes it obvious to the reader that the second intifada brought out a lot of underlying emotions and previous qualms the two had with each other. One thing they both still share in common however, is their willingness to stick to their convictions, and their motivation to get their individual messages out to the public.
I had never heard of any of these musicians prior to this article, but now that I have a background of who they are and what their messages are, I plan on listening to a good deal of their music. Being American and primarily relying on western media as a source for my musical tastes, I am truly looking forward to exploring the music of other cultures, especially if they have a good message to send.
I too had never heard of these musicians, but it seemed strange as well at the same time that rap music in general is stereotyped badly amongst any community of middle to upper class families. When I was younger and listened to rap music which still wasn't very often, it was always about money and girls. Of course these two groups of rappers don't speak of similar subjects. It shows a different perspective when these two groups that have a violent past like American gangs do with each other, don't physically resort to violence to get their message across but talk it out. In a way it shows that this conflict is becoming more productive and is reaching out to people more so than dangerous streets in the USA. I respect their messages and each group of rappers respect each other even though they dislike one another. This is also an example for us her in the United States.
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