n 2004 the group was invited by Shateel organization to do a song that talks about the discrimination in the mixed cities in Israel, the Arab neighborhoods suffering from poverty, unemployment and house demolitions by the Israeli government, in Lyd the main entrance to the Arab neighborhoods is through 8 train tracks that you must cross them by walking and as a result of that more than 10 Arabs were killed by the train. The group featured a local Arab R&B singer Abir al Zinati and they created a song called "Kan Noladti – Born Here" as a reference to a known Israeli song by "Dats and Datsa" that said "I was born here, my children were born here and this is where we built our houses with our hands", DAM changed it to "I was born here, my grandparents were born here and this is where you destroyed our houses with your hands". The song was followed by a video clip by the late Juliano Mer Khamis (A Palestinian Jewish actor and director that was assassinated in Jenin's Refugee Camp in front of his Freedom Theatre on 4 April 2011). The Born Here Campaign also featured a bus tour for Israel’s top celebrities in the Arab ghettos in Israel. The campaign created a huge local media outrage. Many artists joined the ride among which were: Moni Moshonov, Aviv Geffen, Ha Yehudim, Yoav Kutner, Gila Almagor and many more. As a result of the video clip and the tour the Israeli government was forced to build bridges above the train tracks and ever since no one was killed by the train. "When we say Hip Hop is a bridge, we mean it metaphorically and Literary" said Tamer on his TEDEX speech at 2012, Nazareth. Tamer maintained to make political and historical tours after that, for schools, local and foreign groups, and for International artists such as Erykah Badu, Ezra Koenig from the American Rock band - Vampire's Weekend, Michael Franti, Gbenga Akinnagbe actor on the TV show The Wire,

The Born Here Campaign with DAM also toured Israel to spread awareness for the campaign, but Abir Zinati did not join the tour due to a threat she got from her cousins and family members claiming that the tour is a disgrace the honor of the family the day before the show. Tamer and Abir’s lives were threatened and thus they decided to cancel Abir’s participation in the tour. Tamer declares now that the incident was the first time that he felt the discrimination against women closely, and that DAM’s message was missing something, and that is women's rights.

Born Here

Da Arabian MC's  (Suhell Nafar, Tamer Nafar, Mahmoud Jreri)

Heralded by the major French newspaper Le Monde as “the spokesman of a new generation,” DAM, the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to rap in Arabic, began working together in the late 1990s. Struck by the uncanny resemblance of the reality of the streets in a Tupac video to the streets in their own neighborhood of Lyd, Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar, Mahmoud Jreri were inspired to tell their stories through hip hop.

After their timely song “Min Irhabi” (“Who's the terrorist”) was downloaded over a million times shortly after its internet release in 2001, DAM became a household name among youth throughout the Middle East. Rolling Stone in France distributed the song free in one of their issues, and the song has been featured in various compilations.

Ten years of performing all over the world has strengthened DAM’s commitment to continue living in their hometown of Lyd – fifteen minutes from Tel Aviv – working to provide the youth of the city and neighboring communities with programs and opportunities that have otherwise been denied to Palestinian citizens of Israel. In addition, they have conducted workshops for young people from the West Bank to the US, Canada, and Europe.

DAM’s music is a unique fusion of east and west, combining Arabic percussion rhythms, Middle Eastern melodies, and urban hip hop. Their work has been influenced by artists as varied as Ghassan Kanafani, Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Mahmoud Darwish, Naji al Ali, Tupac, Biggie, Public Enemy, MBS, K'naan, and Pharoahe Monch.

“IHDA” (“Dedication”), DAM’s long-awaited first international album, was released in 2007, and DAM has seen its songs and members featured in films such as “Ford Transit” (Dir. Hany Abu Assad) “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” (Dir. Morgan Spurlock), “Salt of this Sea” (Dir. Annemarie Jacir), and “Local Angel” and “Forgiveness” (Dir. Udi Aloni). DAM's history and influence on the Arab hip hop scene is detailed in the feature-length documentary “Slingshot Hip Hop” (Dir. Jackie Reem Salloum). The group has also been featured in Vibe, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Q, Basement, Reuters, and The New York Times, and has appeared on MTV, CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera

فرقة الراب العربي الفلسطينية - دام
دام - الناطقون بلسان الجيل الجديد، على حد تعريف صحيفة "لي موند" الفرنسيه, هي أول فرقة هيب هوب فلسطينية وإحدى أوائل فرق الراب العربي, بدأ مشروعهم في آواخر التسعينات, حين لفت نظرهم التشابه بين الشوارع في فيديو توباك( فنان راب امريكي مشهور) وبين حارتهم في مدينة اللد, ما دفع تامر نفار وأخوه سهيل نفار ومحمود جريري إلى رواية للعالم من خلال الهيب هوب.
في عام 2001 صدرت لهم أغنية "مين إرهابي" التي حملها من الانترنت أكثر من مليون شخص. وجعلت من "دام" اسماً تداولا بين جيل الشباب في الشرق الأوسط، حتى أن مجلة الرولينغ ستون الفرنسية، عالمية الشهرة، وزعت الأغنية مجاناً في أحد أعدادها, كما ودخلت هذه الأعنية في العديد من البومات المنوعات العربية والعالمية، إلى جانب أغانٍ أخرى للفرقة.

بعد عشر سنوات من التجول بين منصات العالم، صار أعضاء فرقة دام اكثر إصرارا على العيش في في مدينتهم - اللد التي تبعد 15 دقيقه عن تل ابيب، وازداد عزمهم على تزويد شباب مدينتهم ومناطق اخرى ببرامج وفرص التي لا يتمتع بها الفلسطينيون في اسرائيل، بشكل عام. فقاموا بفعاليات تشجيعية وورشات عمل، خرجت من حدود مدينتهم ووصلت إلى مناطق الضفة الغربية والولايات المتحدة وكندا وأوروبا.

الموسيقى التي تنتجها "دام" هي مزيج مميز بين الشرق والغرب, حيث تجمع الإيقاع العربي والألحان الشرقية مع الـ"هيب هوب" الحديث. وقد تأثرت أعمالهم من عدة مبدعين مثل : غسان كنفاني, أحلام مستغانمي, محمود درويش, ناجي العلي, upac‪,‬ B‪.I.G, K’nan, MBS, Pharoahe Monch. ‬T

"إهداء" هو عنوان أول ألبوم عالمي لـ"دام"، والذي صدر بعام 2007، بعد طول انتظار من قبل الجمهور. وقد استخدمت بعض اغاني هذا الألبوم في عديد من الافلام مثل : فورد ترانزيت ( من اخراج هاني ابو اسعد) " اين اسامه بن لادن" (من اخراج مورجان سبورلوك) " ملح هذا البحر" (من اخراج أن ماري جسير), و "ملاك محلي" و "مسامحة" (من اخراج اودي الوني). عرض تاريخ "دام" وتأثيرها على ساحة الهيب هوب العربي في الفلم الوثائقي "سلينج شوت هيب هوب" (من اخراج جاكي ريم سالوم). كما وأن الفرقة تظهر في الإعلام العالمي في عديد من المقابلات والتقارير في الجزيره ووسائل الإعلام الأخرى، منها: ‪Vibe, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Q, Basement, Reuters, and The New York Times, and has appeared on MTV, CNN, BBC

Born Here

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