Ithaca College will be hosting a screening of the documentary “Slingshot Hip Hop,” as well as a live performance by DAM, the first and leading Palestinian hip-hop group in Israel, from 6 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17 in the Park Auditorium. At 8 p.m., there will also be a Q & A panel with the members of DAM and “Slingshot Hip Hop” producer Jackie Reem Salloum. The event is free and open to the public.
“Slingshot Hip Hop” is the first feature-length documentary about the Palestinian hip hop movement. At the cutting edge of this emerging Middle Eastern youth culture, it is a fresh, complex and energizing window into contemporary life in Palestine and Israel, and into one of the many identities that Arabs are exploring today.
“Slingshot Hip Hop” braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as they discover hip hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty.
DAM's music is a unique fusion of East and West, combining Arabic percussion rhythms, Middle Eastern melodies and urban Hip Hop. The lyrics of DAM are influenced by the continuing Israeli - Palestinian conflict as well as by the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality. DAM also addresses such controversial issues as terrorism, drugs and women’s rights.
Musically they take their inspiration from both Hip Hop artists (Nas, Common, 2Pac, Mos Def, IAM, NTM, Saian Supa Crew, MBS etc.) and Arabic music (Marcel Khalifa, Kazem Saher, George Wassouf, Majda al Romi etc.)
Becca Burns, Samantha Lowe and Dave Staley, students from the Politics department at Ithaca College, have put on this event to spread awareness of Palestinian youth culture as an expression of protest and hope.
The event is sponsored by the Progressive Discourse Project, and co-sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies, Provost Offices, President’s Office, School of Humanities and Sciences, Imprint Magazine, the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life, the Park Center for Independent Media, and the Diversity Awareness Committee.
You can e-mail rburns1@ithaca.edu if you have any questions.
