Thursday, September 29, 2005

Hip Hop Catching on In Gaza

Click on the title for the complete Knight-Ridder story.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The wanna-be gangsta boys arrive in baggy jeans and oversized T-shirts bearing the likeness of rapper Tupac Shakur, looking for a chance to freestyle with the night's star performers. The groupie girls in glittery tops throw their hands in the air, cheering on the breakdancers, when the hip hop party is brought to a screeching halt:

Time for evening prayer.

Across the Gaza Strip, West Bank and even in Israel, young Arabic rappers are trying to juggle Middle East traditions with contemporary Western culture to create a political voice for their generation.

Maybe they will start forming chapters of the Bloods and Crips and begin killing one another, instead of Jews. Can you imagine the dilemma of what to do when the "call to prayer" goes out in the middle of a gang battle or a drive-by?

Hat Tip: G at In The Middle Of America If you haven't seen his site lately, check it out. It has a new look.

2 comments:

Esther said...

I like your vision of it. And you bring up a very interesting dilemma....call to prayer/murder a Jew...hmm...decisions, decisions....

LA Sunset said...

Islam is such a rigid religion, it's hard to know what they will choose.