DAM 4,152

DAM, meaning “ever lasting” in Arabic, is the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to rap in Arabic. DAM began working together in the late 1990s. Struck by the uncanny resemblance of the reality of the streets in a Tupac video to the streets in their own neighborhood in Lyd, Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar and Mahmood Jrere were inspired to tell their stories through hip hop. Later on In 2015 Maysa Daw officially joined the group and they released their first single together, “Who You Are”.

DAM’s sound is unmistakable. Their music is a unique fusion of east and west, combining fierceful Arabic rap with Arabic rhythms, Middle Eastern sounds and melodies, and deep bassy urban hip hop. Martin Vennard from the BBC World Service, described DAM’s music as “the most entertaining, original and socially-engaged music to come out of the middle east”