Talks

In a rare gathering of rappers from the creative front lines of conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East, the extraordinary MCs from Mic Check discuss the power of hip-hop in times of political change.

Interdisciplinary artist, DJ, and writer Jace Clayton (aka DJ /rupture) moderates this conversation with Malian rapper Amkoullel, whose music has been a galvanizing force amid recent struggles with rebel groups in the north; Egyptian MC Deeb, whose song “Masrah Deeb” was chanted during protests in Tahrir Square; Palestinian “first lady of Arabic hip-hop” Shadia Mansour, whose music promotes non-violent resistance—or as she calls it, a "musical intifada"—against Israeli occupation; and Tunisian rapper El Général, whose song “Rais Lebled” was dubbed the “anthem of the Jasmine Revolution.”