Talks
Artist Talk: Mic Check
- 7PM
Amkoullel, Deeb, El Général, and Shadia Mansour
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.”
BAM brings together MCs from Mali, Egypt, Tunisia, and Palestine for an evening of hip-hop born from radical social and political change.
Inspired by the aesthetic of the intrepid recordists at film and record label Sublime Frequencies, this series explores the sounds of North Africa as captured by the label’s key directors.