British-Iraqi rapper Loki (Flickr)
British rapper Loki and his compatriot singer Mai Khalil have launched a remarkable musical work entitled "Palestine will never die" that combines singing and rap, Arabic and English lyrics, speech arts, poetry, prose and lyrical performance.
Loki told Al Jazeera Net that they were inspired by the work of the Lebanese artist, singer and composer Ahmed Kaabour, known for his works that carry the hopes and pains of the Palestinian people, the most famous of which are "I call you" and "O pulse of the West Bank" (in the West Bank I have seven children) and others.
Loki added that the song, which is characterized by multiple rhythms and poetry, is "our modest contribution to this just cause and an attempt to empower young people in the West who have a passion for the liberation of Palestine," adding that the words gave them chills and reflect the current reality.
"We hope that the song will give more courage and boldness to those who talk about Palestine and are not afraid to confront the Zionist lobby in their countries," he said, adding that the circumstances that inspired the song are "a sense of helplessness and political paralysis. It is our right in the West to stand in solidarity with our people."
Loki pointed out that they chose to mix Arabic and English in the song, because this combination "reflects the reality we live in", stressing that they were inspired by traditional lyrics to benefit new generations, and deepen their connection to their past.
Rap mix and singing performance
Regarding the use of different musical genres in one song, Loki said they wanted to prove that "Arabs are not in a state of cultural schizophrenia, on the contrary, our exposure to multiple arts leads to enriching our abilities to describe our bitter reality."
He said he sees rap "as an important part of this process, especially how it makes a person interact with the other directly."
Luckey explained that the history of rap grew out of the suffering of African Americans "because of racial segregation," noting that he sees "the Zionist occupation as a branch of the tree itself, meaning that it is a European racist system imposed on people from the Global South."
The song began with Arabic lyrics performed by Khalil, saying, "The child stood alone and songs, and bullets around him and soldiers, the child stood and stones are piles, and his eyes are determined and ascended," and then turned to rap in English, where Loki said, "From the river to the sea, Palestine is free," and continued with rap that the images of children's bodies do not leave his heart, and it is clear that there is a need for more than the march of thousands of protesters and more than one speech and more than a poem or piece of music, even calling ambassadors is useless as long as fuel is pumped For Apache aircraft and tanks.
As the video shows images of the bombing and destruction in Gaza, Loki added, singing: "My fingers are pointing at that government, you killed them all. Tell me you wouldn't carry weapons if these were your children, the truth is that bombs are manufactured here, I feel death filling the air, while we stand and watch, and a little child asks for his brother's lock. I don't know how anyone can live after that. Israel is a terrorist state and the television broadcasts lies. This is not a war, it is systematic genocide, but whatever they do, Palestine will never die."
Khalil, who was born in Syria, completed the singing link with the lyrics of the Palestinian poet Tawfiq Ziad, "I call you and tighten your hands and the ground under your slippers and I say I redeem you," and concluded the song with the lyrics (non-lyrical) of one of the grieving fathers in Gaza who confirms that they will not surrender and will not leave their country and land.
The song is a joint work between artists Loki and May Khalil (social media)
Singing and political activism
Although rap music is not new to the Arab youth scene, dating back almost to the turn of the millennium, it has been strengthened in recent years by the development of the relationship of younger generations with social networking sites to overcome the blackout of traditional media and express the acceleration of events, according to music critics.
In his book Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the Culture of the New Muslim Youth, author Hicham Idi argues that some types of music—such as hip-hop, jazz, Andalusian melodies, and Moroccan gnawa — have come to intersect together to represent an identity and a means of protesting "Western war politics."
In his previous interview with Al Jazeera Net, Lucky said, "When I started the music career, I was offering a lot of trivialities, and what I offer was not related to politics, and I did not have a goal in the first place. But after a while, I realized that I had to use music for a more lofty, noble and powerful purpose. At that time, I was preoccupied with the tyranny of American culture over British society, and I saw hip-hop as a means of self-expression, especially in adolescence, and I tried to express my feelings through rap, but over time I also saw that it was suitable as a tool of political action."
"The deepest inspiration came from the Palestinian cause and the heroes who fought for freedom and the future, and I saw many commonalities between Palestinians and peoples who fought for liberation from colonialism, and the Palestinian suffering manifested in front of me as a mirror of the suffering of all humanity from injustice," Loki said.
With the escalation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, social media is full of many musical initiatives and artistic and creative works in solidarity with the residents of the besieged Strip against shelling, targeting civilians and forced displacement.
Source : Al Jazeera