Palestine's first ever hip-hop group, DAM (meaning ‘It Lasted’ in Arabic) has finally reached Western shores with two of their albums being reissued by the Cooking Vinyl label. Having formed in 1999 and been highly acclaimed for rapping in their native Arabic tongue (although they also rap in English and Hebrew), it's only in the last year or so that they've been noticed by Western audiences. Such is their popularity in the Arab world, their debut single ‘Min Irhabi’ (Who's the Terrorist?) racked up a million downloads.
Their subject matter is based around political issues in the Middle East. Dedication's ‘I Don’t Have Freedom' mixes traditional Arabic oud (lute) and percussion with contemporary hip-hop beats, while the piano-led ‘Freedom for My Sisters’ is potent and empowering. The English-language ‘Mama, I Fell in Love With a Jew’ is a poignant yet humorous love song; an upbeat number with steel drums and effervescent keyboards.
Both Dedication and Dabke on the Moon are showcases of the ferocity and vigour typified in the hip-hop genre, which DAM do pretty well. It's a wonder that DAM have been overlooked by many in Europe and the US for so long, despite them being around for 18 years; a shame, because hip-hop has moved on significantly with fresher sounds since these albums were recorded in 2006 and 2013 respectively. But, having performed at Glastonbury and London in the past couple of months, it surely won't be long until DAM's talents are known to many more – it's about time too.