Free the P

(Note: This is not a satirical piece.)

On the cultural front, "US rappers sing for Palestine."

They rap about checkpoints, military oppression and refugee camps. Their songs express longing for Jerusalem and anger at the hardships of life in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

But they grew up in Tennessee or Virginia, live in Los Angeles and perform in New York City.

Far away from the their parents' homeland in the Middle East, Arab-American rappers are trying to find their own voice in the United States - expressing the frustrations of the Muslim world at a time when anti-Islamic feelings are on the rise following the September 11 attacks.

Their neophyte movement is spurred on by the success that rap and hip-hop have in voicing the grievances and reflecting the lives of other minorities in the US.

Two of the Arab-American rappers, Umar Offendum and Ragtop of Los Angeles, are on the forefront of this small but growing trend in hip-hop music.

"Hip-hop has always been trying to voice resistance in the face of oppression," said Omar Offendum, the performance alias of 24-year-old Omar Chakaki. "And if you're growing up Arab, politics are very important because they affect every level of your life in many different ways."

"There's definitely a feeling of solidarity with other minorities, like African-Americans, and not just when it comes to the music," added Ragtop, 25, whose real name is Nizar Wattad. "Palestinians in Israel and the territories are also second-class citizens."

Read more.

"Free the P" is the creation of Ragtop (Nizar Wattad) and Omar Offendum (Omar Chakaki). It stands for "Free the Palestinians."

Wattad and Chakaki are currently touring to promote their duet and their CD, Free the P.

According to the Free-the-P website, the album is "a compilation of hip-hop and spoken word, dedicated to the youth of Palestine, inspired by the global struggle for justice and peace."

All proceeds from the album are going to Jackie Salloum’s Slingshot Hip-Hop, "an up-coming documentary on Palestinian hip-hop."

In a review, Andrew El-Kadi heaps praise on the CD.

He also provides snippets of lyrics from some of the tracks.

From Invincible's "No Compromises":

On Palestine -- "it’s called a security fence, but all I see as far as the eyes stretch [is a] superiority complex”

On the local police -- "there’s a discrepancy of good cop, bad cop, every cop operates with injustice as a backdrop"

From the title track by The Philistines, joined by rapper Omar Offendum of the N.O.M.A.D.S.:

"perhaps we’re, the reason why rap’s feared, 'cause we can attack their, patriot acts with patriotic dispatches…"

"home to [the] Roman empire’s own kid sister America, who fits the apparel 'a, her predecessor from the dresser wearin’ the hand-me-down oppressor cuz it’s in her blood…"

El-Kadi gives what he calls "a few softer hittin’ lines" from Immortal Technique’s "4th Branch."

On that track, in addition to calling Condoleezza Rice a "new age Sally Hemmings," the listener is treated to lyrics like "martial law is comin’ soon to the hood to kill you, while you hangin’ ya’ flag out your project window."

El-Kadi concludes:

This review definitely wouldn’t be complete without mentioning what a clown the Iron Sheik is on the track "Neo Con Luv," where he tries out his vocal chords on a classic hook of "Condoleeza, you look so good to me… Dick Cheney, why you so sexy? And Wolfowitz, you make my dreams come true…. And W, those freaky things you do!"

All in all, the Free The P mixtape comprises some of the best hip-hop and spoken word to be heard on the streets today.

Yes. Well. OK.

I wonder. Does it have a good beat and can you dance to it?

I can't imagine Dick Clark having the Iron Sheik guest on American Bandstand to perform "Neo Con Luv" to a bunch of squealing teenagers.

Did you know that "Hip-hop Thrives in Israel"?

From Rolling Stone, 2003:

Hip-hop concerts, these artists feel, provide a place where they can be recognized for who they are. "When we come, and the audience sees artists standing before them," Richard says, "they see the positive side of being Arabs."

"Hip-hop is a great tool for building bridges between Jews and Arabs," agree Gabby Baruch and Shani Alder, two young women who attended the concert. "We hear each other's music and message, and we feel closer to each other."

Nitzan Zafran, however, was among the concert-goers who felt differently, stating that some of the Arab artists' messages were combative and "promoting war."

"Instead of fighting each other in guns, they fight with words," explains MC Suleka, a budding female rapper who attended the concert. "I felt it among the Arab artists as much as I felt it among the Jewish artists. I could feel the sensitivity of the audience, but I think it's good the artists expressed themselves." It was hard for people, she says, "but so what."

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think "it’s called a security fence, but all I see as far as the eyes stretch [is a] superiority complex" is helping to build bridges between Jews and Arabs.