Mashrouʼ Leila is not a bandʼs name. It is not a proper noun per se; Mashrouʼ Leila is Arabic for ʻan overnight projectʼ lusting out a microphone, a violin, a bass, two guitars, drums and keyboards. It started out as a music workshop at the American University of Beirut in 2008, an open platform for students of architecture and design, somewhere to experiment with sounds and make things audible. Haig Papazian, Carl Gerges, Hamed Sinno, Omaya Malaeb, Andre Chedid, Firas Abou Fakher and Ibrahim Badr have enjoyed this sound fetish savoring its façade of nonchalance and feeding on its lack of genre – sustaining their collective as Mashrouʼ Leila, an experiment. 

You can hear Leila, cascading melts of masculine vocals only suspended with thrusts of violin, beats and bass – attacked by neurotic melody that means no harm – sometimes tender, even sometimes on pause. Through the music, you can smell where Leila has been, in bed sheets, on sidewalks, jasmines in riﬂes and spilled coffee on dresses as she made you play with aubergines, dancing her dance. Music has constantly been their place to play with things, to match and mis-match, a project. 

In the various performances, Mashrouʼ Leila is a constant attempt to taste and produce, more than happy to harvest anyone from the audience as a guest in their encores. They have performed around Lebanon since 2008, playing in various venues in Beirut, taking over supposed public piazzas as well as clubs, pubs, hybrids and the such – they also played in Zahle, Sour, Jounieh, Saida and Deir el Qamar, each of which pushed forward their thinking about how to go about their music, lyrics and performance. It is only when Mashrouʼ Leila goes live, that you can actually catch a glimpse of Leila. As it talks to you of Beirut, the city that tastes of the absurd, the product of its day-to-day experiences, its stubborn security and lack of the latter, its musical bombshells, incoherent sexuality and thrusting pleasure…narcotic pain – as it brings forward hints of Arabic Tarab, rock, to folk pop, electro, you can see Leila in every man and woman in the silent- come-raving audience. In this trajectory, they participated in music workshops and concerts in Amman and Cairo to maneuver their way into a pan-Arab music scene, to know and to announce, more importantly to grow, musically. 

In March 2009, Mashrouʼ Leila won the Lebanese Modern Music Contest jury prize and public vote organized by Radio Liban in partnership with CCF, Incognito and the Basement. They recorded their debut album with B-root Productions, released in December 2009. The music in the album is a reclamation of the aftertaste; sequel-ing a dose of Beirut.

written by Raafat Majzoub

‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’ 

The New Album Out March 24th, Pre-Order – 
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Listen to ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’ – http://lanadelrey.lnk.to/oceanblvd_sID

http://lanadelrey.com

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booking: vincent@wartiste.com

In 1998, after years of friendship, four young Palestinians, living in Akka, Palestine, joined together and formed one of the first Arab hip hop groups: MWR. Mahmoud, Waseem, Richi and Charlie (dj Chuck) do not mince words. Their lyrics speak to their unique experience as Palestinians living within the borders of Israel. Essentially they live as third class citizens in their own homeland. Typical to young people all over the world, American hip-hop has been a great influence on the group's music, as has its Algerian counterparts. MWR uses music both as an effective method of self-expression as well as a tool to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians. Rapping almost entirely in Arabic, they sing about racism, poverty, drugs, the Israeli occupation, and the lack of support from the Arab governments. Their political focus and sharp, often biting lyrics, combined with strong hip-hop beats and an unforgettable stage presence, have earned them fans around the world.

"Because I'm an Arab" topped the charts for two weeks on a Haifa radio station, and MWR was named band of the year. The group has appeared on CNN, MTV EUROPE, and other television networks worldwide. Most recently, they performed in France. This was, in fact, their first trip outside of the country. Additionally they have appeared throughout Palestine - their performance at a rap festival in Nazareth last year drew thousands of people. For more info on the band, as well as links to some of their press, and songs you can download, go to Facebook.com/MWR.Palestine

A broad coalition of U.S. community, social activism and artist groups have collaborated to bring MWR to the country. We see this as an opportunity to build bridges between communities of resistance, and to bring energy and inspiration to these movements. As far as we know, this is the first time a Palestinian hip hop group has toured the US.

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

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