Home-grown hip-hop catching on among young Palestinian men

"Hip-hop is the CNN of Palestine." Nafar, 26, Palestine

Across the Gaza Strip, West Bank and even in Israel, young Arabic rappers are trying to juggle Middle East traditions with contemporary Western culture to create a political voice for their generation. Just as Public Enemy, N.W.A. and Ice-T created furores with songs such as "911 Is a Joke," "F-k Tha Police" and "Cop Killer," Palestinian rappers such as Nafar take a provocative, controversial approach with songs such as "Who's a Terrorist." The scene is giving young Middle Eastern men a voice for their opinions, the grit of real life adds to the rigour of the lyrics.

Loyal young Palestinian men follow these acts because they rap in Hebrew and Arabic. The rappers provoke critical thinking and encourage audiences to look at the issues facing the Middle East from the perspective of the victims, again appealing to the young men (and some women) who attend. The conservative Gaza Strip - where alcohol is all but banned, movie theatres are nearly nonexistent and Islam is a foundation for many families - is proving to be fertile new ground for hip-hop. The rappers messages resonate in a society where half the population is under the age of 18, at gigs teenage boys with their oversized t-shirts freely dance next to reserved groups of girls in traditional Islamic headscarves and conservative dresses.