The video above is and interview with two members of the hip- hop group Darg Team from the Gaza strip. They constantly battle music censorship in Palestine because of their controversial political lyrics. Two of their members have been sent to jail and have been questioned. Darg Team has also been band from making music in Gaza because their music speaks out against the the current government.
“We see ourselves as really honest when we talk about these issues, and it is really dangerous to talk about this kind of stuff in Gaza. Because we don’t have that 100 percent democracy in Gaza. As you know, it is a little bit dangerous. So we are trying to make it like ‘between the lines’, the stuff that we talk about. Especially if it is about the government.” - Bess
They go on to say that they are not afraid to speak against the government, they just have to be careful about it. Darg Team sometimes tries to put their message in between the lines so the government doesn't know what they are talking about.
"...we use a double meaning and metaphors. We say something that is obvious but the real message and the real meaning is really hidden. If they understood everything we say, they’d really kill us" - Fadi
I found this interview very interesting because I have never had much faith in the hip-hop culture, especially the American hip-hop culture. I now a have more faith in the power of hip-hop music. Darg Team is a prime example of musical protest, because they are taking the risk to speak out against a government that could potentially kill them for what they are saying.
After I read this I was like, "What about freedom of speech?" Then, I realized it's a band in another country. It's things like this that make me so thankful for the privileges we have as Americans. Just to know that people in other countries can get in trouble for the lyrics in their songs make me that much more thankful for my freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteThis is the beauty of hip-hop, it's uncensored rawness, it's bold lyricism. When it becomes watered down by censorship, a dent is put in hip-hop culture. Hip-hop began in America, so at least it's birthplace still has the ability to express freely, as freedom of speech has been a cornerstone of our society for as long as we've been a country. But, that's not to say that people have not tried to censor hip-hop, as well as other genre's of American music. It creates the question of, how much does the right to freedom of speech truly harness our opinions? In the Gaza strip the force up against non-conforming lyrics is obvious, in America it is often subtle. We are now used to explicit content stickers on cd's as well clean radio, but is that truly fair either?
ReplyDelete