From Tupac to 'Gangster Arabi': Hip-Hop in the Middle East

Yuval Orr is dear to our hearts at the media lab. Not only was he a Selzter Grant awardee, but we've witnessed him work hard over the past years on an array of projects.

Check out a conversation he'll be presenting tomorrow called:
"From Tupac to 'Gangster Arabi': Hip-Hop in the Middle East"
Yuval Orr, C’11
...B.A. Candidate
Modern Middle Eastern Studies
College of Arts & Sciences

As change sweeps across the Middle East, the voices of the region's youth are beginning to be heard. Among the growing youth movements in the region is the hip-hop community, spanning from Morocco to Iran. These artists have adopted this musical form, and the cultural movement behind it, as a medium through which to construct and express their identity to their own communities and the rest of the world. The growing hip-hop scenes and movements in Morocco, Israel, and Palestine in particular represent a significant crossroad between an American art form and local traditions. Through hip-hop, artists across the region grapple with the weight of cultural convergences, from the foundational influences of Tupac Shakur to the contemporary image of the Gangster Arabi.

See the Facebook Event.