Da Arabian MCs (DAM) is composed of 2 brothers, Tamer and Suhell Nafar, and their friend Mahmoud Jreri, all hailing from the slums of Lod, a mixed village of Arabs and Jews 20km outside of Jerusalem. The group formed in 1999 and blasted onto the scene in 2001 with their second album, whose title track, “Min Irhabi/Who’s the Terrorist”, was downloaded over 1 million times in the first month. The song spread throughout the Arab world and Europe, establishing DAM as the first group to represent the emerging Palestinian Hip Hop movement. Their blend of Arabic and Western musical influences, as well powerful lyrics focusing on the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine and other issues facing young Palestinians have made them international icons of artistic resistance, especially after being featured in the award-winning 2008 documentary film, “Slingshot Hip Hop“, and several international Hip Hop tours. The name of the group, DAM, means ‘eternal’ in Arabic, and ‘blood’ in Hebrew, fusing not only the two languages in which they rap but the depth and commitment of DAM’s music and message.

www.dampalestine.com

In one of their first videos, “Born Here”, DAM raps about the life of young Palestinians born within Israeli borders. They made a Hebrew version of the song to reach Israeli audiences who don’t speak Arabic. And someone added English subtitles so we can all understand what they’re talking about.

It’s unclear whether DAM actually produced this video but it is definitely inspired by their breakout song, “Min Irhabi/Who’s The Terrorist”, and once again someone has added subtitles. While the images convey a strong message, the words of the song seem to have an even greater impact.