Deep and heartfelt, English and Arabic, Hip-Hop and R&B — it’s no wonder this song quickly made it into our August FEN FIVE. And with just enough footage from Iraq cut in to some nicely shot portrait and performance footage, the video makes every line even stronger. What I like most about this song is that in addition to telling a real and honest story in an ode to his Mesopotamian motherland, Lowkey invokes a feeling of longing for better things wherever “back home” is. And that’s a sign of truly good music.

Annemarie Jacir’s Salt of This Sea is now playing in U.S. theatres — check out this interview with her and make sure you support this film in any, and every city near you!

STATS
City to Film: Jaffa
Soundtrack: Blood on the Tracks
Mango or Guava: Mango. Definitely.

1. You are a screenwriter and director — do you enjoy one role more than the other?
I came into cinema as a screenwriter. I have always written and I cannot do anything if I cannot write. It’s a craft I have great respect for. Later, I worked as an editor and cinematographer — and never thought I was interested in directing until I was in film school. There I discovered the great joy of working with actors and how much I truly love directing — which combines all these elements. I continue to work as a freelance screenwriter for other people — writing scripts other people will direct. Everything is connected but everything is so different from each other and I enjoy it all.

2. Is there one particular actor or film that made you want to pursue this career?
No, there isn’t. There have been countless films, actors and directors who made me think of pursuing this career.

And more than that, there are poets, musicians and artists who helped me move forward and keep going.

3. How is SALT received differently in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East?
Salt of this Sea had a great reception in the Middle East and Europe. We’ve had a theatrical release in Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, India, Turkey, Holland, etc, and France where it stayed in the cinemas for four months. So the response was much better than I expected. The DVD release was also very good.

I went to an illegal DVD shop in downtown Amman and asked for the film. The guy didn’t know who I was but he gave me a copy and said it was his # 1 selling film. I asked him who directed it and he said ‘I don’t know. I think Suheir Hammad or Saleh Bakri but there’s this other strange name on the DVD — Annemarie — but I don’t know if that’s a man or a woman. I heard it was a woman.’

But these days, I’m especially excited about the U.S. release of the film! It’s been a long time coming! The U.S. has always been a much harder place for my films and the kind of work I am doing. I take it as a compliment. I mean, what else can I do?

4. What does SALT mean to you?
Salt of this Sea is the most difficult and most important project of my life to date. It means so much to me on so many different levels. The fact that the film exists is a miracle in many ways. It’s salty, it’s birth, death and continuation in the sea, and it’s ours.

5. Do you mind sharing the obvious obstacles in shooting SALT in Palestine?
It took five years to find the funding for the film and even in the end we did not complete our budget. We were forbidden from filming in 80% of our locations. Our cast and crew were denied permissions to move about. We applied for permits for the West Bank crew to leave Ramallah – every single one was denied. I was even forbidden from filming an aerial shot because they told me I have a “security issue.” And later I was refused permission to return to Palestine entirely — so the film was completed in France. I tried to make the film the “right way” — asking for permits, etc. But when so much was denied,

we had to make a decision — either we don’t make the film or we go ahead and do it sort of guerilla style. In fact, it’s a little like the film itself — Soraya tries to get her family’s money out of the bank legally, but when she is met with refusal…well, sometimes you just have to take things into your own hands.

6. What is your favorite song on last month’s FEN FIVE?
I never heard Mashrou’ Leila before and I love it. Great stuff! I want to hear more. But I gotta answer your question and Omar Offendum is not only a friend but he’s got something special — he’s smart, he’s fun, and he’s good. I’m loyal.

1. How did your story with art begin?
As a child, I particularly enjoyed drawing, and would often copy images from magazines or draw my family at home. At that time, I preferred to utilize watercolors on paper. Upon reaching secondary school, I was fortunate enough to benefit from the encouragement of my art teacher, who allowed me to use the studio at school. There, I was able to experiment with a wider range of media.

Later, as a young man studying archaeology, I encountered the ancient art of the Middle East – Sumerian sculptures, Assyrian reliefs and others – all of which heavily influenced my work, and continue to do so today. I was also increasingly fascinated by the old poetry and mythology of Mesopotamia, and began producing art based around the famous Gilgamesh epic. Other sources of inspiration include literature, for example the One Thousand and One Nights and Sufi texts.

2. You have been quoted as saying: “I may be British on paper, but in reality, I’m an Arab. The colors I use are also Arab.” What are Arab colors?
These are the colors of the Bedouins, of the desert. Almost all tribes, from Morroco to the Gulf, share a preference for warm colors – reds, oranges, yellows – in contrast to Europe, where pastels are more common. Such colors stand out against the neutral tones of the desert, and, indeed, Bedouins will often surround a black tent with textiles of vibrant colours, as if replicating a garden.

When the European artists of the Cobra Movement travelled to Africa, they returned with a completely new color palate incorporating these warmer hues that were so characteristic of the area.

Dafatir or Art Book

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4. You are known to be leader on the subject of the looting of the Museum of Iraq and the treasures of Mesopotamia. How have you been involved?
In terms of modern Iraqi art, I have in recent years been assisting Dr. Nada Shabout in this area. Difficulties arise as a result of the lack of documentation — pieces can spend several years wandering the market unnoticed. Initially, the early government could have prevented this by purchasing back the stolen items from the looters. In the long run, this would have in fact proved less costly, because the looters seldom possessed an understanding of the true value of the pieces.

5. You have produced numerous book illustrations for Contemporary Arab Literature. Can you elaborate on this experience?
Until the ’70s, I generated a lot of illustrations for poetry books or novels, perhaps because my interest in reading made me feel close to literature. However,

I wanted to take this idea further, to enter into a dialogue with the text rather than to simply illustrate it. The result was an abstract interpretation in shape and form,…

similar in concept to the work produced for my dafatirs. Thus, in order for the reader to properly appreciate the poem, an understanding of modern art is required.

The union of image and text adds another layer to be interpreted, draws on both forms to create a new, expressive vision.

6. Pierre Cardin bought two of your paintings in Paris. What were they?
Pierre Cardin is of course most renowned as a fashion designer, but he is also prominent for his work with furniture. The two paintings of mine that he bought from the Fiac Art Fair, and were later incorporated into his space at a furniture exhibition, as the colors of the paintings complemented those used for his furniture.

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About the Author: Ahmad Khodr Minkara is a U.S.-based writer and physician. This piece was originally published on Dia Magazine.

Photo courtesy Bering Photography

Randa Jarrar is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Map of Home, which won a Hopwood Award, an Arab-American Book Award, and was named one of the best novels of 2008 by the Barnes and Noble Review. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, Five Chapters, The Oxford American, The New York Times Magazine, The Utne Reader, and the Progressive. She has been chosen to take part in Beirut39, which celebrates the 39 most gifted writers of Arab origin under the age of 40. She currently lives in Austin, TX and took a break from her many projects to answer these 6Qs…

STATS
Favourite place in the Arab world: Beirut now.
Favourite book by an Arab author: Arabesques, by Anton Shammas
Jeem or Geem: Both!

1. You’re half-Egyptian and half-Palestinian. Despite being basically a full Arab, what are your favourite differences between the two?
Egyptians are so much funnier, I think. Palestinians are hotter (sorry, Egypt!) and their showers have better pressure. Maybe these things are related? My relationship with Egypt is physically stronger because I speak Arabic in Egyptian dialect, and I’ve gone there much more frequently.

2. As a Palestinian exiled to Canada via Kuwait (born there), I really related to your book because it dealt with identity. But in my opinion, it is difficult to claim a “quintessential” Palestinian identity because most of us are in exile and have to absorb a variety of cultures. How do you define your Palestinian identity and what are your thoughts on a universal Palestinian identity?
I think the only way to define Palestinian universal identity is to say that there is no such thing.

The moment you bulk people together is the moment you take away their humanity.

Meanwhile, I don’t necessarily think of myself as Palestinian. I don’t pretend to have suffered the way my relatives in Jenin have; or the way Palestinians in Gaza suffer today. I want to write a short film one day about a Palestinian-American who returns to Palestine (specifically, the West Bank) after she’s inherited some land, and the fiasco that ensues with her family members. It’ll be a black comedy. The Palestinian writer Adania Shibli inspired the idea when we were sitting on a bench in Wales last month.

3. You are a single un-wed mother, and as we both know, this is an incredible taboo amongst the Arab community. How have you dealt with it?
I am actually a twice-wed mother. I was a single mother for 12 years, and although having a baby out of wedlock is taboo, I’ve recently discovered that a huge percentage of Egyptian women are divorced mothers. So single parenthood is actually becoming a very common situation for women all over the world. The first time I took my son back to the Middle East, my family treated me the way they always did. I think if I hadn’t married his father (however briefly) things would have been different.

4. On some occasions you stated that you and your father have a rocky relationship. How do you feel this relationship with him has contributed to your overall writing?
Every act of writing is a betrayal, and I have never been interested in being a good girl. My father was always my first critic (and believe me, he criticized everything) so I think

that taught me to have a thick skin, to be strong, disciplined, and ruthlessly brave. These are all traits every writer needs to cultivate to succeed.

5. Did you ever have doubt or fear about publishing A Map of Home because of the subjects it tackled?
No. I knew there were certain people who were going to have a problem with it, and I simply don’t share the same values with them. I was in fact, very excited for it to be published.

6. What’s your next project?
I’ve written a collection of stories, and I’m finishing a new novel about a young single mother in Michigan and her magical baby son, and doing research for a new novel set in New York City during World War II.

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About the Author: Danah Abdulla was not born in Canada but has lived here since the age of two. A Palestinian with a degree from the University of Ottawa in something other than Engineering (Mass Communications, minor Commerce), she lives in Toronto but is currently roaming the Middle East. She’s a freelance writer and blogger. She likes to doodle, read, make jokes and dance.

Omar Offendum

1. This is your first solo album. Can you talk about the transition from previous albums to SyrianamericanA?
Yes, this is the first time I’ve done an album entirely myself. Everything else prior has been collaboration, whether with Mr. Tibbz and the NOMADS, which was the first album I did, or the Arab Summit, or Free the P. Everything is a step to learn from, and build on. It took the making of those albums to find my own voice. Working with those guys and performing around the world, I was able to find what I was comfortable performing by not saying the type of messages I was well equipped to deliver, or saying ones I felt were not necessarily my thing. So yea, I definitely found my comfort zone on this album, where I’ve been able to tell stories that describe my worldview that go back and forth between the Middle East and the U.S.

2. Your audience is a part of a community that’s all over the place, who can understand being “back and forth.” Does that inspire the album?
Exactly.  It’s not such a unique feeling to be spread out across the globe, but something everyone can relate to nowadays, especially our community. Most of my immediate family lives in the Middle East. My mother and sister live in Damascus, and my other sister lives in Dubai. I have one brother who lives in Boston now. We are all over the place, and I think you get that feeling on this album when you hear it.

That back and forth is part of the album, but in a fluid way. It’s about finding a home wherever you are.

LISTEN to “Destiny” from SyrianamericanA and check the video out here >>

3. Describe SyrianamericanA.

SyrianamericanA is a nation-state of mind where everything is connected and everyone is welcome.  It’s a trip to Syria through an American’s eyes, and a trip to America through a Syrian’s eyes.

I feel as American as I do Arab, and I think that’s clear on the album. And it’s done with respect to hip-hop, not as some Arabic fusion project. I’m proud that the lyrics stand on their own, but there’s also a lot of great production on the album.  I made some of the beats, and a beat maker from Montreal by the name of Habilis also did quite a few of the beats. He does a really good job pulling beats from Barbara Streisand to Armando Manzanero, which sounds random but he knows how to create a mood. Some beats also came from an up and coming producer called Oddisee in D.C., and also beats from a kid living in Tunisia, who I met online. The Internet helps shrink the globe.

4. You breathe new life into the essence of hip-hop, and also bring back poets and artists of our parents’ generation like Nizar Qabbani…
I often try to tell stories on an album. I translate in both languages where I can switch from one to the other through poetry.  I conjured up a story about three individuals I met on an ancient street in Damascus, one of the oldest streets in the world.  There’s also an Arabic tale Magnoon Layla, an old story of star-crossed lovers that I thought would be cool to flip to a hip-hop song.

There generally is not a lot of storytelling in hip-hop these days, even though that’s one of the reasons I was so drawn to it.  A lot of what I hear has to do with bragging, as opposed to continuing an ancient, oral tradition that really pre-dates hip-hop.  Hip-hop is the modern incarnation of music like jazz, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, or even older African and Middle Eastern traditions.

5. Is there a difference between your Arab audience in the Middle East and the U.S.?
There are similarities between both because both are well versed on all things Western. Middle Easterners watch American TV and listen to American music. Then you have people here [in the U.S.] sticking very closely to their Arab tradition and culture. Over the years, I’ve found that I can perform the same material anywhere I go, and because I’m comfortable representing an honest expression of myself wherever I am, I don’t have to change too much. I can perform the same stuff about Damascus in D.C. or Damascus, and people still appreciate the music and the message. I’ve performed in Arabic in the U.S., and Americans who don’t know what I’m saying tell me ‘that’ was their favorite song because it sounded different or was a faster rhythm. It’s not an entire set in Arabic, and they’re able to relate to everything else being said.

6. You’re part of what I call an underground mainstream. Can you speak to that?
I credit the Internet for making that possible, it’s shaken up the old record label system. There are only a handful of artists who are really huge and selling platinum records, and that’s not something you necessarily have to aspire to because you can build a core fan base and develop a following over the years.

You don’t have to compromise your own integrity or beliefs, and you can do it all at home because technology is much more accessible.

Also because of the internet, I can have fans here and in the Middle East. None of this was possible 10-15 years ago, when you would have needed to get your demo to a record label. And I’m really fortunate to have people who find my music entertaining and relevant enough to want to invite me to perform all over the world. I also think it’s important that the main bread and butter should come from performance. Anybody can put out an album, but I always felt there has to be promotion for what you can really offer. I personally feel it forces you to work on your craft.

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About the Author: Born and raised in Southern CA, Lana Daoud can find herself at home just about anywhere. She has a degree in History with a minor in Middle East Studies, and is currently a fellow of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership For Change based in Los Angeles. Home is where the next great experience lies, heart belongs to her nieces, roots are in Palestine.

Narrative Filmmaker Ziad Hamzeh

1. I understand you were just in Tunisia. What took you there?
Every year, the Tunisian Spring Film and Arts festival chooses distinguished artists to recognize their contribution to the worlds of cinema and art.

This year, I got the spotlight. It’s not for one specific work, but in recognition of the collective works of my whole career.

2. That’s quite an accomplishment. I also understand that the Atrash family sold you the rights to tell the story of  singer and actress Asmahan. How did that feel?
In 2001, I returned to my homeland for the first time since leaving in the early seventies to attend the Damascus International Film Festival as an honoree. While I was there, Mamdoh Al Atrash and his brother approached me and asked me to help the production of the series Asmahan. I was not available, and also had some reservations about doing Asmahan as a TV series — she has such an overwhelming personality that I wasn’t sure the small screen could really hold her powerful presence. But when I was in Damascus filming Women, Mamdoh approached me again, giving me nearly 80 signatures from the Al Atrash family asking me to create a work that would do justice to this great woman.

The need to find the balance in this story while not defeating the very essence of being asked to direct this film presented me with one of the most challenging feats I have faced. The script is finally finished and I feel very good about the outcome. Now, the next task of development seems even more challenging as I try to assemble an international cast and crew who will be as dedicated to this story as I am!

3. How do you think a Western audience will react to an English movie about Asmahan?

The prevailing idea of Arab women ignores that we have our own share of brilliant, history-making women. Asmahan can rattle those old ideas and help shape new ones. Presenting a dynamic Arab woman character in a dazzling cinematic production could be the perfect way to take ownership of our own image.

4. What made her such a legend, particularly considering how young she was when she died?
Asmahan possessed a courage that other women were afraid to seek but were desperate to know. She rebelled against anyone who attempted to dominate her. By being a real woman — of substance, of nobility, of character — Asmahan paved a path of promise for the generations of women who came after her.

5. What is different about your version of the Asmahan story than others that have been told before?
I was given more private information than any story could hold. More importantly, I wanted to be as courageous as Asmahan herself and not shy away from events that might be deemed controversial. Yet I am not giving her entire biography, after all

I have 90 minutes to tell her life, so my choice of the events will focus the story on the extraordinary rather than a comprehensive play-by-play of her life.

6. You founded the Open Fist Theatre Company in LA. It’s been very successful — what do you think has made it so?
I created the company with a group of artists shortly after finishing my MFA in 1989. I made the decision to build the company in the midst of Hollywood despite the outcries that we would not survive for one month in that environment. I took a closed building that used to belong to Bob Hope and Houdini and renovated the entire Quonset hut, and we worked 18-hour days as we prepared for our first production, Sam Shepard’s True West. Now, the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary — it’s a visionary organization.

For more on Hamzeh, visit hamzehmystiquefilms.com >>

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About the Author: Ahmad Khodr Minkara is a U.S.-based writer and physician. This piece was originally published on Dia Magazine.

1. The fact that you have illustrated aspects of your Arab and American identity is amazing. What are some of the reactions you’ve received?
In general, the reception has been very, very positive. I have to admit that I was mostly worried about showing the comics to my family, since the stories have much to do with them (directly and indirectly). Since they don’t live near me, they only had a chance to see them when I had already published them in book form… probably not the best way to let a person know they’re featured in a body of work, in retrospect! But they took it well and like the work, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

I’ve also been thrilled about the positive feedback I’ve gotten from Arab-Americans who have read it. My original intention was to make the comic personal to my experiences but still have an “Arab 101″ feel for folks who aren’t as well-versed in the community.

2. Many Arabs claim that after 9/11 they felt it was important for them to educate Americans about being Arab and American by paralleling the two identities. Did the events of 9/11 play a role in the creation of The Hookah Girl?
9/11 was very, very important in its creation. I like to say that 9/11 helped me “come out of the closet” as an Arab-American. For the longest time, I would shun Palestinian-Israeli politics because it brought up so many strong emotions in people, which is something I was always bad at handling — in fact, I’m still working on it. I was also afraid of being treated differently if it came up, so I simply never talked about being Arab, let alone Arab politics.

The thing that really set me off was right after 9/11, when friends started advising me to tell people I wasn’t an Arab (’especially not a Palestinian!’) if asked. I know they said these things with good intentions, but it helped me realize that A) I am a rational person B) I have nothing to hide and C) I’m in a position to help alleviate fear for everyone’s benefit, and I must take advantage of that.

Leila

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I wish that there was more of a concerted effort to study current art worldwide to understand a culture, similar to how art historians/anthropologists study older work. Sometimes drawings are so much easier to understand than words.

6. Can you give us a look into your future projects?
I’m in the process of doing tons of research for a Silk Road comic I’d like to do next. There’s a lot to learn, and I want to make it right, so this will be slow going!

Browse more of Marguerite’s work on her site >>

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About the Author: Danah Abdulla was not born in Canada but has lived here since the age of two. A Palestinian with a degree from the University of Ottawa in something other than Engineering (Mass Communications, minor Commerce), she lives in Toronto but is currently roaming the Middle East. She’s a freelance writer and blogger. She likes to doodle, read, make jokes, and dance.

The Narcisyst ft. Shadia Mansour – “Hamdulillah“

1. How did you get into music?
I come from a musical family, so I grew up listening to the legends of the Arabic music world. I was always very political, so I used to go to protests and demonstrations and sing a capellas of Fairouz and Marcel Khalife songs. Then when I was 17, I met Eslam Jawaad and we collaborated on a song called “Beirut” — that was the first Arabic hip-hop track that I did. Then I joined the group he was part of that was called Arap, which consists of Cilvaringz and Salah Edin. I was the only female in the group at the time, and I combined the singing and the rapping together.

2. Do you strictly write conscious songs?
No, I don’t see myself under any category.

I have released conscious, political songs only because I felt like as an Arab at this point in time, there’s a duty, and I had to address certain issues. Because this is my life, it’s my experiences.

Before I got to the age where I was really starting to look at myself as an Arab, I wasn’t really thinking about trying to defend our culture, I was just proud. I was 16 when 9/11 happened — that made me feel more Arab than any time in my life, and after that I felt like I really had to make it known and claim back our culture and our tradition and our civilization.

3. Do you write/perform in English?
I started doing music in English, but I was always intrigued by the Arabic language. I’m the most fluent of my siblings and I was more connected — I spent a lot of time in Palestine when I was young, and I just felt I could express myself better in Arabic. I feel Arabic, I feel Palestinian. It sounds strange, but when I talk, I think in Arabic.

4. Who are your biggest influences in Hip-Hop?
I could always relate to Public Enemy. That’s always been my number one choice of music. Tupac, I could really relate to. Much respect to Biggie ’cause whenever we say Tupac we have to say Biggie, but to be honest I’m not into gangster rap. I would buy it, but I don’t feel I can relate — ’cause I’m not a gangster, I’m not from the street and everything else that comes with it. Tupac really focused on issues that were happening, and I really admired him for that. People like KRS-One — just teachers, educators…Lauryn Hill was one of my biggest influences — biggest biggest influences. In a way, actually, I’m glad she’s not making music right now, only because I feel like I wouldn’t want to know how the industry would try and mold her in terms of sound. I will play that [The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill] forever, and that’s how I like to remember her, that music is just timeless.

I’ve always loved hip-hop. I never called it old school, for me it’s real school. Something that had substance in it.

6. You’re independent — have you ever thought about going major?
I’ve thought about it and I’ve tried, but they wont sign me. They want me to wear the Nancy Agram dress instead of the Palestinian dress. I laugh at that, ’cause I’m too old for that type of propaganda. Even if I was under a label, I’m very particular about my kind of music.

Ridwan Adhami does it again! After the success of their video for “Keep The Record On Play” it’s no wonder Outlandish came back to NYC to shoot “Let Off Some Steam” with Ridwan, too. FEN was behind the scenes on this one, and as good as it looked in the making, we think it came out even better. If this is a formula that repeats itself, we won’t be disappointed. Stay tuned for behind the scenes footage…

DAM – “Kalimat (Words)”


STATS
Group Hangout: NYC
Best cook in the group: Tamer – “I’m the only one who can cook”
Favorite Rapper(s): Tamer – Lupe, Mahmoud – K’naan

1. Tell us about your humanitarian project and poetry teaching workshops.
We go to kids from broken homes and show them that we come from the same neighborhood, from the same situation, and that the world is bigger than where we live. Basically we go in and show them that they can write their own rhymes. We give them a word and everyone throws in their own word. Then you’re just rhyming ’cause when you drop 10 words, a few of them gotta rhyme. Then we show them that they can write it, then we teach them how to flow with it. And suddenly kids come to us with full songs, asking how they can record and where can we perform. When there are festivals, kids who didn’t know anything about hip-hop want to do shows.

2. How did Slingshot Hip-Hop affect your experience as artists?
We see Slingshot Hip-Hop as the degree. You suffer five years in college and you study and work hard and sometimes you’re just exhausted and you cannot go on, and suddenly Slingshot Hip-Hop comes along and it’s like ‘hey, here’s your degree man, here’s your marks, you’ve been doing well, we see your life.’

Not many people have the privilege to see their life and achievements documented. At some points you are so weak and suddenly you are watching yourself in a big film that makes you strong, so it just gives you the feeling that you can get over it.

And it really opened the door for us in the USA. Ever since Jackie dropped Slingshot Hip-Hop, we’ve been doing two or three tours a year. We’ve been big in Europe and the Middle East, but it really opened the door to America and Canada.

3. What can fan look forward to next?
The next album! We’re working on it, were halfway. It’s gonna be very different, we are working with very big artists, like Rachid Taha, and we have Trio Gibran — three brothers from Nazareth who play the Oud. The album will be very musically creative. It’s very different from the first album where we are just throwing words; now we are storytelling.

4. If there was just one thing you want people to know about Palestine/Palestinians, what would it be?
Ashab haq. People with cause.

5. Favorite on-stage moment?
Mahmoud – in the Basque Country, we performed with Farmin Maragoza, and there was like 50,000 people. It was a really good experience.

Tamer – My favorite moment is when people get the punch lines and start laughing and whispering. I love punch lines. So when I work hard on them and people respond immediately, I appreciate that.

6. Writer/Scholar Reza Aslan was in Israel a couple of weeks ago — upon his return he said, “as depressed as I was about the two-state solution prospects, I couldn’t help but notice that the most popular hip-hop act in Israel was a Palestinian group called DAM.” What do you guys have to say about that?

Whenever you are popular that’s good. I would say that we’ve been noisy. Nobody gave a damn about destroying the houses in our town, so they never came to document it. So I invited the top celebrities of Israel to the neighborhood for a bus tour, that dragged at least eight of the top media over there. So we know how to make buzz — when you speak with full confidence with a cause it creates buzz.

I appreciate that, it makes me proud. A lot of times, you just say ‘damn what am I doing? Am I doing it right?’ And when you hear stuff like that, it’s not money, it’s not a prize, it’s not an Oscar, it’s just just a compliment. When you hear that youre like ‘cool’.

STATS
Now Playing: Broken Bells, The Gorillaz, Gil Scot Heron
Favorite Dish: Mandi, aka Kabsa
Favorite African Artists: Youssou N’Dour, Amadou & Mariam

Were you musically inclined as a kid — did you have any idea you wanted to get into music?
No, I was more poetically inclined, but not necessarily musically. Poetry is not something you do in my country, it’s just what is. So I never really thought of myself as a poet, or wanted to be a poet. It’s just the tool we had to communicate. I think I always had kind of an ear for melody, but I didn’t think of it as something I would do in the future.

You immigrated to NYC in 1991. Were there any major challenges you weren’t expecting in coming to and growing up in America?
Obviously there are the usual ones — weather, language, culture, architecture, these things. But for me, I think the challenges were a personal frustration with how the system worked and how we were suddenly the new villains. Teenagers coming out of Somalia all pouring into one city, just because we didn’t really know the behavioral conventions and how to properly work with the system, we were vilified quickly and I began to feel a sense of injustice taking place and began to fight it. And that was a particular challenge for me which led me to a lot of trouble throughout my teenage years. Eventually taking it from the world of streets to music was challenging as well, but definitely less physically dangerous for me.

How were you first introduced to hip-hop? Is it true you learned English by listening to Nas and Tupac tapes?
I heard Eric B & Rakim’s Paid in Full while still in Somalia. Yes, Rap was my first English teacher. But my second and best teacher, was Literature.

It wasn’t til Nas’s Illmatic that I wanted to make records. I just saw what he was doing as the poetry of the underprivileged and it inspired me. Between that, and my sincere dislike for misunderstandings, I wanted to write songs to explain a few things.

If you could collab with any artist in the world who would it be and why? One dead, one alive.
I don’t really fantasize about collaborations, I’m fortunate I’ve worked with many artists who I admire who are alive, more to come but they will come when the time is right. As far as dead, well that’s just too much to think about.

How has your success helped or how do you hope it helps Somalia and her people?
It’s helped me in that I can see there is a desire and demand for what we do, and that people understand it along with hope and possibility for Somalia.

“Wavin’ Flag” has gotten so big. The first time I heard it was in 2008 — it was big to me then and it continues to get bigger. Tell me about the progression of that song.
“Wavin’ Flag” is just one of those songs, that,

I don’t know there’s no particular recipe for things like that, it just happens to you. And I think there’s something in the melody, in the feeling of the words, and that child-like quest for freedom and the hope that it contains that lends itself to a large audience.

You always kind of felt that about it but I just didn’t know what would happen. I just thought it’d be nice if a few people hear this song. So the first version was just what I used to perform live, then we put it on the album as a refined version, and then the World Cup thing came, which is a humongous opportunity to spread this music across the world. And recently, it’s been taken up as the new “We Are The World” for Haiti, and got all these amazing young artists singing this song, and it’s amazing.

What it was like to work with Nabil on the video?
Nabil is one of my close friends. We did “T.I.A.” together, and “Wavin’ Flag” will have three versions. I think we have two versions out now, and there’s one more that we’re doing together, which is myself featuring two other artists, which are kind of surprises…so Nabil and I are collaborators and conspirators, where it concerns visuals and music.

You’re becoming a prominent fixture on the world stage. Do you like the limelight or would you prefer to stay more “underground”?
For me, the only distinction between the limelight and being somewhat underground is the success of the songs and the success of the message in the songs. Personally, I am more suited to not be a very public person. You know from meeting me in person that I’m not really that loud or wanting to consume all the attention in the room. So I’m more suited to be kind of a little bit in the background.

I think that I write music that kind of needs to be heard by people, so it’s a little bit of a contradiction between my personal need to be in solitary moments and the need to spread this music that needs to be heard. It’s give and take and I try to deal with it as best as I can.

Music is a universal language. Is there anything that can’t be translated or communicated through music?
Boy, I don’t know. I know that what can be communicated through music is all the important things. The things that touch us, and change us and all of that.

We communicate all our goodness and all our problems through music.

Now, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite tracks off K’naan’s Troubadour album – “T.I.A.” It’s full of energy, a perfect way to kick off the album and one of a few songs in history that successfully and appropriately samples Bob Marley. Many tracks off Troubadour were recorded at The Wailers’ legendary Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica, so it’s only fitting that they incorporated one of Marley’s classics, “Simmer Down” in “T.I.A.”. Enjoy:

Baghdead

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because I couldn’t be there to witness the war and because I wanted to police how my people were being represented to the world through camera lenses of those working for the media machine.

By the time I had collected a considerable database of images, I started juxtaposing them with my own images of Baghdad from my visit in 2004, and more recently, 2009. Almost each painting is set in a space that I myself have been driven through and photographed: Haifa street, Freedom Square, the highway from Amman to Baghdad, the Ministry of Justice.

The crazy thing with Warchestra was that weapons really started to resemble instruments. I started to find instruments that looked like weapons, too. The images are collage-based, so the process is very much one of censoring weapons with instruments, reclaiming the images of violence and making them about culture.

How did the War in Iraq influence your work?
Being Iraqi, I have thousands of years of cultural production to work from. Our heritage is [currently] overshadowed by the U.S. occupation, the subsequent internal conflict and an intense misrepresentation of the Iraqi people. Join all those elements together, and you’ll [understand] how I’ve approached making art since 2003.

What is the significance of replacing weapons with instruments?
The significance of replacing weapons with instruments is that

I am reclaiming those images of violence and occupation and altering them to create a “re-imagined” Iraq. If that image does not exist in the media, I’ll make it myself.

Its not as simple as saying “Make music, not war” but rather, using culture as a form of empowerment. As a people, we have a deep and rich cultural heritage, so we must be intelligent about our resistance so we don’t succumb to fighting each other and ourselves.

What does each instrument in your series represent?

• Oud: A bomb. Well, a bomb-maker vs oud-maker. You decide.
• Pianos: In “Keys of Return” the piano keys are the buildings, and the grand pianos Israeli bombs.
• Trumpets: AK-47
• Trombone: RPG
• Clarinet: RPGs and missiles
• Saxophone: RPG
• Violins: U.S. military tanks and blackhawk helicopters
• Upright Bass: U.S. military bases
• Qanun: Blast walls
• Microphone: A handgun and an explosive belt
• Upright microphone: for a voiceless woman
• Conductor: A suicide bomber

What do you listen to when you paint?
Although you are on my roster, I listen to all kinds of music. Fairuz, Zuhur Hussein, Maqamat Iraqiya, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Mos Def, DAM, Erykah Badu…

It seems that music has always been integral to your art. From designing covers for albums to the present series Warchestra — how is your art related to music?
My emphasis with Warchestra is to subvert objects of war with objects of culture. Adding the sound element to the paintings was also a natural evolution. Having access to musicians, poets and lyricists that inspire me adds so much more to the work. First, it gives the work a collaborative element, which is something I had been wanting to do for a while. And second,

adding sound really transports the viewer-listener to a “third space,” so to speak. It makes Warchestra more of an experience.

Coming up with the Euphrates crew at such a core time in both my own development as an artist and in the state of the world, music and art were part of the same family. [My] process was most definitely influenced by the music Euphrates were making — especially during Stereotypes Incorporated (their second album). When I had the epiphany for Warchestra, it felt completely natural to replace an RPG with a clarinet.

On “The Forgotten”
When it comes to Iraq, the media is completely preoccupied with trying to prove that Iraqis are incapable of governing themselves, how Iraqis need American military presence. People can’t make sense of [the war]. So, they forget, like a bad memory that you try to bury in the back of your head. There is no humanitarian element to this war, the rhetoric is completely political. The Iraqi people have no face; a faceless population to a (un)necessary war.

On “Keys of Return”
This piece came about in January of 2009, right as the Gaza war was peaking. “Keys of Return” is about the Palestinian struggle, right of return, and the Gaza War. Israeli bombs took the form of grand pianos crashing from the sky, while clarinets were the resisting missiles from Gaza. Certain elements of that war really stayed with me, and infuriated me. Looking at the contrast of size and magnitude of those two instruments (weapons of war), along with the white phosphorous that was used, and the enormous contrasts in casualties were just mind boggling. How could you not write or paint about such a catastrophe while it is happening in front of you and the world is allowing it to happen?

Warchestra opens at the 2010 Mayworks Festival in Toronto on Saturday April 24th.
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About the Author: The Narcicyst (a.k.a. Narcy a.k.a. Narcel X) is one of Arab hip-hop’s pioneers; a writer, journalist; activist; and actor. Narcy is committed to taking all forms of art to new levels.

STATS
Black & White or Color: Color
Now playing: Bob Dylan
Favorite Photographers: Michael Ackerman, Rebecca Norris Web, Giorgi Pinkhassov

1. What’s the first picture you ever took?
The first picture I took was in university when I started taking my photography course — our first assignment was to go out and approach random people on campus and ask them if we could take a headshot of them. It was an absolutely horrible set of pictures. I didn’t know what I was doing, it was awkward, the people’s expressions were awkward — it was actually so bad that I was assigned to go out and re-do it.

2. Do you see the world differently through the lens?
Yeah, because I’m really looking for certain things like the color, the movement and the light. If I don’t have my camera, those things will pull my attention, but

when I’m looking through the lens I’m in a completely different zone.

3. What’s the longest you’ve gone without taking a picture?
I used to have to take at least one picture on a daily basis because of my practice as a newspaper photographer. Every single day [I was] out there taking a picture of something. And then when I became a freelancer, it was a lot more about me initiating the work and projects that I wanted to do. So it could be a month that I go without a picture that I’m taking seriously and intensely, that’s intended for something.

See more of Laura’s “Four Seasons in One Day” gallery >>

4. What’s your favorite thing to photograph?
People. In the last year or so, I’ve really been focusing more on women. I’ve developed this interest in photographing women’s issues — like the project on the veil, and I just recently photographed something in India that was about the widows of farmers that were committing suicide.

5. What’s one place or event you can’t wait to photograph?
I would really love to photograph some kind of conflict or war situation. I’d love to be there to witness it first hand and document it in pictures. For a very long time, that’s really what I wanted to do. I stopped dreaming of that because I realized maybe I’m not so emotionally prepared for it, but if the opportunity comes my way, I’d take it. The other thing I’ve always wanted to photograph is fashion, like New York Fashion Week or something like that. I’d love to do that, that would be fantastic.

6. Has anyone ever confronted you/complained for taking their picture?
Yeah it happens all the time. And typically, from my experience, it’s always someone that you’re not even photographing that comes up to you and complains. It sounds really strange, but usually I’m pointing my camera in one direction and somebody that’s behind me comes up and says, “Why are you taking a picture”?

Normally, I don’t ask people for permission to take their picture before I take it because if I do, then the picture will completely change. Whether they like it or not, they become very conscious of me and my presence. So I usually try to smile at the person and give them some kind of recognition like ‘yeah I’m taking a picture of you’ but I’ll just leave it kind of open ended.

See more of Laura’s “Four Seasons in One Day” gallery >>

For more of Laura’s work and to purchase prints, visit her website >>

Rania Salibi

STATS
Alternative Materials to Fabric: Plants. I go to the extreme!
Favorite Design Season: All of them. Every season is unique.
Caffeine. Social or Necessary: Social.

1. How did your journey to becoming a fashion designer begin?
I always knew I wanted to do fashion design. I really got into it when I was in Lebanon. I was always interested in illustration and art, but in Lebanon, I was glued to Fashion TV (FTV). By the time I was 14, the feeling that I wanted to do fashion became more constant. I don’t feel like I chose fashion, but maybe more that it chose me. It’s just that it’s a hard industry to take in, and only when I look back does it seem to makes any sense.

2. From where do you draw your artistic inspiration?
My inspiration comes from everywhere.  When I was younger, it was music. I love art and art history. French culture influences me, especially being Lebanese — I feel that has something to do with the appeal. And Lebanese culture as well, a lot comes from home.

I don’t have a set process. Most people do things ABC. I do them ZFG.

3. Have you been influenced by any designers in particular?
Karl Lagerfeld has always been a favorite. Designers, in general are kind of iconic. Valentino, Donatella [Versace]. And of course there is Elie Saab, who as a designer that made a big mark in fashion and also being form Lebanon, has been a big influence on me as a young designer. It interests me to see where they go and how far they’ve gotten.

There are no rules in fashion, which is why I think young designers look to past designers as a model. We look to follow their lead as a way for us to navigate ourselves.

4. What has it meant for you as a designer since winning the Oscar challenge?
It’s given me a lot of confirmation as far as where I should be. You always know where you belong, but never feel certain until you get that confirmation.

The Oscars are like the Super Bowl of fashion, so it’s definitely a great feeling. This is the first time I was introduced to the public, and I can’t think of a better way…

I mean I’m sure there are other great ways, but this was certainly an honor, I got to meet a lot of new people, see what other designers are doing, and be validated as an artist.   It’s a big stepping stone, and very encouraging for me especially since I knew I was competing against designers who have been around for 10 or 20 years. I only graduated two years ago, so I didn’t apply with “the win” in mind, and definitely did not expect this.

5. The Academy obviously saw something they liked. Your design has some ingenuity involved — can you talk about that?
I knew I wanted to give the dress a little mystery, so I decided to use laser-cut leather. It’s a fairly new process — probably about 10 years old, but maybe newer to the industry. I designed the fabric, and found somebody who could engineer the material. The process to make the fabric restricted how it can be used, which played a part in the final design outcome. But the dress sketch that I submitted was intentionally vague because I know things change.

6. Do you have a philosophy on accessories?
I love accessories.  It has to be some amazing statement piece, unless the dress is a statement piece. You don’t want to go overkill with accessories. They have to complement each other, there needs to be a balance. Unless you’re naked then you can wear all the jewelry you want!

For more on Rania’s work, visit www.raniasalibi.com

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About the Author: Born and raised in Southern CA, Lana Daoud can find herself at home just about anywhere. She has a degree in History with a minor in Middle East Studies, and is currently a fellow of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership For Change based in Los Angeles. Home is where the next great experience lies, heart belongs to her nieces, roots are in Palestine.

Levantine Indulgence is fresh and pleasing to listen to, whether it’s the focal point or background music. The Levantine Indulgence ensemble plays well, giving Gaida’s voice a fitting landscape to travel as she improvises. This improvisation takes on a new life when they perform live, as they recently did for the album release at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. Check out some photos from the concert below…

Listen to “Illak Shi” from Levantine Indulgence

Purchase the album here >>

Photos Courtesy Ali Yasin Beceren

Nabil Elderkin strikes again. Just sit back and enjoy this one ’cause it’s beautiful. Pass this along and you’re guaranteed to brighten up someone’s day.

With an emphasis on fit and bringing out a woman’s natural beauty, it’s no wonder his designs are adored by trendsetters and celebrities alike. Besides Queen Rania, his designs have adorned Penelope Cruz, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, and most recently Kim Kardashian and Keri Hilson (see gallery).

Rami Kashou

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Rami’s story is fascinating. After arriving in the U.S. in 1996, he worked in retail, which eventually led to a buying and merchandising position at a boutique in Los Angeles. After a stint of traveling to Europe as a buyer, he purchased two sewing machines and vigorously studied pattern making. “I would buy a piece, take it apart and inspect it, then I would learn,” he says. After three years of this self-education, he began creating the “One of a Kind” collection, which was picked up by various Los Angeles boutiques. The rest is history…

STATS
Hero: Coco Chanel and Alexander McQueen
Favorite Material: Silk
Song/Singer: Elissa “Tesaddaq Bi Meen”

1. What is the difference between style and fashion?
Fashion is a trend of the moment and it expires the minute the season is over. Whereas style does not have to be fashionable, it’s someone’s self-expression, it’s the way they dress, the way they present themselves — often the two merge.

2. If you could create an outfit for any model or actress, who would it be and why?
Angelina Jolie. I admire her purpose beyond being a huge Hollywood celebrity. She’s obviously beautiful, but what I appreciate is her sense of simplicity and I respect that she does not fall victim to every trend out there. She always shines in what she wears, and

it’s all about the person wearing the dress not the dress wearing the person.

3. What is the funniest or scariest thing that has happened to you during a fashion show?
In my Fall 2004 show, we were getting ready for the finale. In any venue things are likely to be dirty at times — rolling racks and things like that…anyway, the models were all lined up and as the show is about to start, I look at a model in one of the gowns and she has two huge rust stains on the front of the gown. I mean, it’s only a dress but at the time it was a really big deal — if you had dug me a hole and buried me, that would have been fine. I had to have my publicist do a therapy session on me and then we tried to save the dress — we tried to clean it with a wet wipe, blow-dried it — all within a matter of minutes. There was a tie in the front of the dress, so I ended up tying it strategically to fall where the stain was and we pinned it, so it stayed put. That same dress ended up on the front of the calendar for the Los Angeles Times a few days later.

4. What are the best attributes of a designer?
Creativity. A sixth sense — you’re always living in the future as a designer because you have to predict what’s to come. Understanding the psychology of the female (if you’re designing for women) — mind, body, spirit, everything because

fashion is not about making dresses, it’s about making people feel good.

Technicality: to be able to sew, make patterns, speak the language and communicate with the people who do that work, if you’re not. And finally, you have to be adventurous.

5. Where do you get your inspiration?
It could be anything, my last collection (see gallery) was inspired by Frank Gehry’s architecture in the Los Angeles Disney Concert Hall — there were sharp lines, curved lines and I just saw the draping. It could be an old movie or Grecian sculptures, once it was [Mehmet] Erté sketches, there’s really no limit, it’s just what speaks to me, what I respond to, and what I feel.

Some of Rami’s inspirations

6. How did you make the transition from being a designer to becoming a brand?
That’s all about constantly pushing and marketing, putting the work out there. You can be a designer, you can be very talented, very creative but if you don’t have the left-brain, business mind or don’t exercise that, it’s almost impossible to be a brand. It’s a very challenging thing to do — a brand needs a large sum of money, a clear point of view that makes it unique and distinct from other things in the market, and it needs to remain focused and find the balance between creativity and consistency. Because when you identify with a certain brand there needs to be that certain element that remains familiar — the thing that makes it memorable. And it’s important to stay true to yourself and not completely change every season.

For more on Rami’s work, visit www.ramikashou.com

Over $3,000 were raised for victims of the earthquake in Haiti at the concert, held at The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in NYC on Sunday, February 28. The concert included an eclectic range of performances, in addition to the orchestra’s already diverse selection of songs. Their fluid transition from classic Arabic songs, to a rock tune with Tool cover band Right in Tool, and to West African trio Balla Kouyate was remarkable. And Maestro Bassam Saba’s transitions from flute to nay to oud topped it off.

Check out more photos from the event below…

Nagi Youssef blesses the concert with a prayer song

Balla Kouyate (balafon) and sister Taba (singing) move the crowd

Mariana Saba sings a cover of The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun”