A new form of political activism has taken shape in Palestinian refugee camps — hip-hop.
Tuesday, Penn for Palestine hosted the screening of Slingshot Hip Hop, a documentary about the pioneers of Palestinian rap. It follows the lives and developing careers of two bands with underground notoriety: DAM and Palestinian Rapperz.
Some students in attendance had heard of Palestinian rap before the movie. Last year, DAM performed at Penn in another event hosted by Penn for Palestine. But Tuesday’s audience of roughly 60 people was mostly drawn to the event by the political issues that rappers such as DAM discuss in their songs.
College sophomore James Sawyer, who is co-president of the Penn Arab Student Society, said an event solely centered around hip-hop would not have brought a large crowd.
The movie shows devastated areas where the rappers live, buildings that have been destroyed by the Israeli army and the logistical difficulties of living in Gaza.
Certain moments hint at why Palestinian rappers have gained little notoriety abroad. The movie shows how difficult it is for Palestinian Rapperz to leave Gaza — in one instance they do not get permission to leave from the Israeli government in time to perform at a concert.
Many attendees were already interested in the situation in Gaza. College sophomore Jamison Leid went to the event because he was interested in hip-hop as an art form. But he was not disappointed by the movie’s politically charged topic because, he explained, “the intended focus of hip-hop was to get political change.”
History professor Eve Trout-Powell, who suggested that Penn for Palestine host the event, found that interest in the movie lay precisely in the mixture of art and political activism. Rap is “political strength discussed through art,” she said.
College senior Yuval Orr, who met DAM and other rappers from the movie while writing his thesis on Israeli and Palestinian hip-hop, spoke at the end of the movie screening. He explained that one of the problems confronting Palestinian rappers was a lack of means. “The music won’t develop until they have studios,” he said. But he was also very hopeful — for him, hip-hop is “a movement toward change.”
President of Penn for Palestine and College sophomore Humna Bhojani said that two more politically-engaged rappers, Remi Kanazi and Radio Rahim, will be brought to campus in April.
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