Transcending Global and Local with Palestinian Diaspora Hip-hop

 

In recent years, globalization has shaped complex shifts in cultural identity and artistic production. Many have identified hip-hop as a unique global phenomenon with its own participatory culture, which developed as a result of its origins among groups of marginalized peoples. The genre’s emphasis on lyricism and stylistic flexibility attracts youth seeking to express themselves or to disseminate political ideas. In Palestine, hip-hop has played a similar role, but some scholars alternatively argue that Palestinian hip-hop represents an indigenous harnessing of a global phenomenon for decidedly nationalistic purposes, raising the question of whether it should be understood as a political tool employed toward national liberation or as an attempt to connect with the genre’s global culture.

            This paper intervenes to argue that the hip-hop that has emerged within the Palestinian diaspora effectively bridges the gap between the global and the local, giving voice to indigenous peoples and representing the artists’ cultures of origin on a global stage. It considers the work of British-Palestinian rapper Shadia Mansour and her collaborations with Chilean and African-American artists (2014 and 2010, respectively), asking how these artists embody their diasporic identities and produce art that is sensitive to hip-hop’s global culture as well as to their indigenous identities. The songs created by these artists testify to the potential diaspora artists have for collaboration and innovation, creating and expanding global networks of solidarity and grassroots resistance to neoliberal policies and imperialistic practices. Finally, they globalize distinctly indigenous symbols, particularly articles of clothing. Interpreting the artists through these lenses works toward transcending the resistance paradigm and situates their work within its diasporic context, which unites the global/local dichotomy and illustrates the potential for hip-hop as a genre to do the same.