rap
When US President Donald Trump on April 7 ordered the firing of 59 cruise missiles at a military target in Syria as a swift retaliation for their use of chemical weapons on civilians, several Saudis warmly welcomed his decision. In fact, Nawaf Al Assi, a folklore poet, was so elated with the strike that he composed six verses thanking Trump for the attack.
Afghanistan's first female rapper uses her lyrics to expose violence against women.
One of the rising voices in West Coast Rap, Raja Kumari puts her Indian-American identity front and center.
Rap, once disdained in Cuba for its American origins, is being appropriated by the state to push a pro-party line. But the state would win more by allowing artists to work freely.
The United Arab Emirates isn't a country you'd typically associate with hip-hop. It's a place that is generally bereft of the cultural signifiers native to the dark, dank locales where rap was birthed—Illmatic, for instance, probably wouldn't have been the same album if it was about the struggle of going $40 million over budget on your new artificial archipelago instead of the fight out of inner-city poverty.
Anthony Bobb and Dontray Ennis have never been on an airplane. The farthest either of them has been from the Washington, DC, area is a recent trip to New York City. But on Nov. 16, the pair of DC rappers plans to board a flight to Beijing, en route to their final destination — North Korea. It’s not exactly a top tourist destination. But Bobb and Ennis, who go by the names Pacman and Peso, are psyched about the adventure.
On Friday, October 18 at American University, the Public & Cultural Diplomacy Forum will be hosting a performance from First Step Iraq, a group of dancers and rappers from Baghdad, Basra, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, as part of their “Hiplomacy” tour this Fall. The Iraqi artists will present a show that reflects their daily struggle to practice their craft and showcase their talent in the often hostile environment of their home country. The performance will be followed by a Q+A session on this innovative cultural diplomacy program.
Dan Matthews is a rapper. He was adopted from Korea when he was 8 months old and grew up in Southern California as an American kid. But he was curious about his birth parents. So after many years of being on the fence about finding them…he wrote a letter to his adoption agency. He just never thought he’d get this response: "Dear Dan Matthews. I’m writing to share the information of your birth family. As you may be aware your birth parents were married and are still married. they have one son and a daughter.