Group Think: Global Hip Hop (Slingshot Hip Hop Doc)
1.) ALL GROUPS: Osumare speaks about the “connective marginalities” of global hip hop.
What does he mean by this term? How does he define it? Referring directly to your
readings for this week each group should provide a two-sentence response to the above
questions. Each sentence (even if not from your group) should build on the next to
provide a cohesive definition in paragraph form. Have questions for other groups? Insert
them in comments. ‘Sign’ your contributions with your group number.
2.) INDIVIDUAL GROUPS: working in your groups (tables) while watching the documentary
respond to the questions below in sentence form. You can use this space to jot notes
while watching. You can edit the notes into a response after the screening:
3.) ALL GROUPS: Ussing our discussion today (including above) as well as our work in this
course to date, define global hip hop using specific examples (class examples are
preferred) to illustrate your argument. Terms like diaspora and transnationalism should
be part of your definition. Each group should produce 4 sentences. As above, each
sentence should build on the next, as above ask questions in the comments. Be sure to
sign your contributions.
Connective marginalities (definition):
Connective marginalities refer to niche communities across the globe who relate to one another
through the creation of hip-hop/rap to express their shared oppressive political and/or social
conditions (group 4). The term “connective” relates to the dromologically speeded-up flow of the
info (eg rap) and other media (including film) by way of the internet, speeding communication
between sub-cultural groups across the surface of the globe (Group 2). These connective
marginalities refer to social sounds in black expressive culture, which resulted in the creation of
a hip hop youth community and subculture. Connective marginalities take from culture, class
and historical oppression. (group 3). This helps to describe social and historical experiences where
youth generations can identify with Hip-Hop (group 5). Hip Hop is an example of a connective
marginality as it acts as a bridging medium because of its ability to translate across cultural,
social and political boundaries between marginalized groups. This is possible because of the
history and aura surrounding it’s the message of social justice and change. (group 1)
Connective marginalities (definition)
Group 1: what “uses” are made of US-based hip hop by the hip hop artists in the
documentary? Does their relationship to US hip hop change over time? How so?
-Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet” → Fear of an Arabic Nation
● The fear of power in race and cultural identity can be paralleled between different hip hop
contexts; American to Palestinian
● The fear of this exists in the dominant powers across locales; U.S. to Israel
-Used to provide a far-reaching, unifying voice to the voiceless
● One of the artists discussed having adopted hip hop as a medium in order to connect with
a community outside of Palestine, have and create hope within Palestinian people, and
connect to the world outside of their situation. Hip hop in this case, is framed as a means
by which to reach out to a global /wider audience.
● Essentially used to give a voice to those that are in states of oppression, seeing injustice
on a daily basis, and being able to express the concerns and perspectives surrounding
conflict. The hip hop artists that emerge from this are seen by the community as the
voices exposing, recognizing, and speaking to issues. Fulfilling the concept of being
“seen” and “heard”.
● Generate a sense of unity and between the Palestinian people, as well as, a sense of
empowerment through the messages presented to those going through similar struggles
with conflict impacting and even stunting social, political, economic activities. Similar to
our class discussions on diaspora, we see the hip hop artists connecting with communities
across Palestine and in Gaza. They are trying to break down the literal walls that have
been put up between their communities.
● American hip hop has become transnational as it is remixed and used to address global
issues, hip hop unites Americans and Palistinians in a global space to diminish borders
and fight oppression
-Hip Hop as a Form of Protest
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Art works better than violence for social change
Rap for revolution
Used to bring people together
Trying to break the stigma/stereotype of all arabs as terrorists
-Relationship to American Hip Hop
● They were clearly influenced by American Hip Hop Artists like Tupac and Eminem; they
began rapping by imitating this hip hop & speaking English
● They begin to create their own thing (rapper on radio talking about wanting to meet
DAM & caller saying Americans will start playing Palestinean rap)
● They translate the pain and the struggle in these rap songs to their current living situation.
● They make the connection when seeing the Tupac music video which does not glorify
bling but rather focus on issues that are specific to the African American lived condition.
● They felt as if the Tupac video which they saw was filmed in their hometown of Lyd.
● Students knew that rap started out of “black people’s pain and suffering” → demonstrates
the connected marginality between U.S. hip-hop and Palestinian hip-hop based on a
shared experience
● They are able to channel and redirect the messages shared in these american songs to
their current predicament. The songs that therefore emerge out of this are reflective of a
form of protest which socially comments on the harsh realities of their lived experiences.
Group 2: What is the significance of groups like DAM performing rap in Arabic?
- Dam has had the ability to give other individuals groups the motivation needed to use
hip-hop/rap as a political tool to express the opinions of the community they live in. This
movement has not only extended across different groups of rappers, but has also
managed to give female rappers a platform to present the issues they face.
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Arabic has become a language that has been somewhat erased within the Israel proper
and Palestinian towns and the territories. The language has been confined to Palestinian
territory and often replaced with Hebrew across Palestinian territories as the language
of economic exchangeand sometimes in street social discourse that can be viewed as a
form of disempowerment. Empowering the youth through the Palestinian Arab dialect,
provide a furthering sense of identity to the youth that they lack.
Their first Language acts as a more accurate depicter and authentic method to describe
their hardship and marginalization
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DAM explains that living in a jewish state has made them strangers to their own country.
Rapping in Arabic, the second language of the nation, is about breaking down those walls
separating Israeli and Palestinian people and establishing a voice against repressive dominant
powers.
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The notions that hip-hop as a culture has produced is somewhat challenging and
antithetical to the Arabic language and the ties it has with Islam. Yet hip-hop historically
has been influenced by the nation of islam in the bronx as revloutionary thinkers and
challengers of the ongiong marginalization.
Group 3: Do the artists in the documentary address Western assumptions about
Palestinians/”Arabs” in the film? If so, what are these assumptions and how/when are they
addressed?
- One of the assumptions that the artists speak to is the Western ideology that all Arabs
are terrorists. They address this notion in their song “Who’s the Terrorist?” which they
created as a direct response and rebuttal to these stereotypes. Specifically, the group
shifts the notion of the “terrorist” to frame themselves as the victim of oppression and
violence. They frame it as a rhetorical question, asking listeners if what they do and how
they act can be defined as terrorism. Additionally, at the beginning of the documentary,
they made reference to the fear of an Arabic nation within Israel. This can be directly
related to how western society views Arabic people and culture as they are not accepted
in their own country. These stereotypes get perpetuated to a broader and universal idea
of what it means to be Arabic and the negative connotations that accompany this. For
example, the documentary spoke a lot about drug abuse, poverty and violence in their
community. In turn, this leaves youth with little to no hope for a positive future away from
this lifestyle. Addressing these stereotypes through music is important because of how
widespread music can be and how influential hip hop can be in making a difference in
politics and culture. The group is becoming more popular in Israel, therefore, they are
able to spread more positive messages. We even saw that females are now able to
address any assumptions about their experiences living in the same community. This
results in a push forward in gender equality as well.
Group 4: What are the connections/intersections between Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”
and DAM’s “Who’s the Terrorist” (Meen Erhabe)?
DAM’s “Who’s the Terrorist '' outlines the evident fears apparent within the Arabic nation
similar to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” as they vocalize their evident fear against treatment
forced upon African-Americans. Both rap groups attempt to break down the metaphoric ‘wall’
that separates them from ‘society’ by producing music that outlines discrimination, violence and
misconceptions that both groups are subject to. In doing so, it becomes apparent such songs
were created to vocalize their pain, suffering and triumphs through art rather than violence to
construct discussions surrounding socio-political events; rather than insight violence which can
be viewed to increase and/or aggravate pre-existing structures/situations. DAM pulls from
African-American hip-hop/rap culture, literature and contemporary conditions in Palestine to
construct political stories able to encourage collective participation against traditional structures
of hegemonic/military control. Both songs draw upon the geographical location(s) in which they
live to outline the trials and tribulations both groups face with associated local governments and
forms of social, cultural and political discrimination in specific areas. “Fight the Power” is about
the trials and tribulations that black Americans face particularly in the Bronx area of New York
City. Similarly, “Who’s the Terrorist” is about the trials and tribulations that Palestenian’s face in
certain areas such as Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. “Who’s the Terrorist” is about
comparable socio-political conditions similar to what is brought forth by Public Enemy’s “Fight
the Power” and its discussion of mistreatment by dominant organizations, governments and/or
individuals. Both groups write songs discussing how they are villainized and seen as violent or a
terrorist when in reality they are the victims of violence and discrimination. As well, both songs
were forms of alternative media as they did not play through mainstream channels. Even
without the help of mainstream media both songs have been labelled successful.
Group 5: What are the connections between DAM’s approach to hip hop and community and
Nomadic Massive approach to hip hop and community? Describe.
The connections between DAM and Nomadic Massive approaches to hip hop and community
can be easily traced to one another. The music group DAM interconnects stories of Palestinian
artists living in different cities inside Israel. The artists use Hip-Hop as a tool to overcome
divisions foisted by occupation, racism, drugs, women rights and poverty. For example, their
inspiration came from musical legend Tupac who used music videos differently than other
hip-hop artists. Instead of showing bling, he used one of his music videos in his hometown
street. DAM saw this and noticed it was similar to their streets and decided to make music and
videos that reflected the “reality”. With no basic necessities, no permits being granted to fix
infrastructure problems and overpopulation issues, they decided to create angry music which
provided people with a voice. Their music is primarily rapped in Arabic but also in English and
Hebrew and is protest driven counteracting all the issues and rights that they should receive. On
the other hand, Nomadic Massive is a hip-hop group based in Montreal, Quebec. This group
sings their music in diverse languages such as English, French, Creole, Spanish and Arabic.
The group celebrates global music interpreted through an Afro-Latin culture with Hip-Hop as the
medium. The group travels internationally to Canada, USA, Brazil, France and others to sing
their music. Their music is a staple for big cities and cultures for people all over the world. They
also attain this “local reality” within their hip-hop that although is international holds roots that
are tied to home. Both groups envision a reality within their music that is connected to their
respective communities through Hip-Hop.
Global Hip Hop (definition)
It does not matter what region of the world you belong to, because hip-hop allows anyone to
express the realities of the world they currently reside in. Hip-hop, as we have seen, functions
as an alternative medium, or commonly referred to as “our CNN”. Examples from our reading
included Hip Hop from Japan, Russia and Hawaii. The core essence of hip-hop is shared by
marginalized groups, adding to the hip hop diaspora. (group 2). An example of hip-hop’s use as
alternative media would be when radio B92 played the song “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy
to go against the mainstream media approved by the government and express a different
viewpoint of those struggling under Milosevic's power (Group 4). Global hip hop gives
marginalized individuals a platform to voice their struggles, which gives them power over their
oppressors (Group 4). Global hip hop refers to the cultural connections that can be made across
the globe. It is a site of struggle that is born out of a diaspora. It is a transnational experience: it
does not matter what nation or ethnicity a group belongs to, they are related through the cultural
elements surrounding global hip hop (Group 3). The notion (i.e., Global Hip Hop) can be
described as the international incorporation of African-American hip hop (i.e., black culture and
its associated sociocultural and political associations) forms throughout various distinct
geographical locations across the globe (Group 4). For example, in the documentary SlingShot
Hip Hop the group DAM incorporates African-American hip hop, from artists such as Tupac, in
the creation of their own original rap songs (Group 4). Though DAM is from Palestine they can
relate to themes of violence and oppression that the American singer Tupac expresses about
where he lives. This sort of self empowered messaging in hip hop music is characteristic of the
connective marginalities (Group 3). Global hip hop uses music for revolutionary action and
protest, as it becomes a better tool to achieve social justice and change instead of violence
(Group 1). As people relate and associate with others who are viewed as being like them, there
is the opportunity for using a common voice to advance political agendas, similar to the ways in
which DAM and the Mass Nomadic was diasporic in Palestine/Montreal. Furthermore, it includes
a sense of marginalization, frustration, and the examination of battles against oppression, either
real or perceived (Group 5)
Global hip hop is a bridging medium between marginalized groups to express or emphasize social
injustice and change. An example of Global Hip Hop is how DAM resonated with Tupac's representation
of spatial oppression. The similarities between the population visibly living in poverty and the rebellion
against social injustices inspired the Arabic rap group to represent themselves through hip hop
regardless of language and geographic barriers. (Group 1)