Hip Hop Ain’t Dead – It’s In London

Review: Made In Palestine @ Queen of Hoxton

Where has hip hop wandered off to? Is it still a dominant cultural movement? A provocative tool capable of social impact?

Some of my die hard old school hip hop fanatic friends would give a resounding no, believing the lines of the genre are now blurred in a world of whirlwind commercialism, with any thought provoking messages lost in the midst of booty shaking ringtone-esque beats. I can sympathise with the cynicism, as contemporary rap and ‘hip hop’ trends with the likes of Soulja Boy at the forefront just don’t seem to amp me up as much as the likes of N.W.A., Afrika Bambaataa, the late Gil Scott-Heron and others did, and still do.

But whilst that may not be the dominant sound being broadcasted, the waves of empowering hip hop music still flow. And anyone that knows of rap artists Lowkey, Logic, Poetic Pilgrimage, Crazy Haze and Shadia Mansour will vouch for that. Through their music, bleeding real hip hop, the crew (along with others) have come to be recognised as usual suspects of the justice for Palestine movement, and they were all there on Monday May 30 getting fists up in the air at the Queen of Hoxton ‘Made In Palestine’ gig.



The itinerary gave little new to the ear – at least for me; someone who’s seen Lowkey live six times, Logic four times, and having guest speaker (political activist, journalist and co-founder of the Equality Movement) Jody McIntyre in my phonebook. However, these hip hop anthems and voices were as engaging, hard-hitting and uncompromising as they ALWAYS are. This was, and is, political hip hop at its best – with headliner Lowkey offloading his catalogue of lyrics that protest and challenge not only crimes against Palestinian people, but crimes against humanity overall. Logic rapped about being an “outsider looking in” on injustices, expressing solidarity and the work needed for a truthfully peaceful future. And Jody, never afraid to expose the dividing lines between those who stand for the equality of all and those who stand for the supremacy of some, delivered a short poem about his devastating memories of Palestine. Finishing with beats Terrorist, Obama Nation and Long Live Palestine, Lowkey himself even stated: “Hip hop ain’t dead. It’s in London.”

The hip hop with a point/punch is not lost, it’s just evolved as a cultural movement (and is perhaps a little bit more challenging to find).

Let’s just take the case of the Made In Palestine headliner; I’ve read one popular YouTube user’s comment on a video of Lowkey’s speech at the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Massacre Protest (May 2010), describing the rapper as a “British Tupac”. Now, I wouldn’t go that far. Set up a room for the two to converse today and I’m crying out to be a fly on the wall. But the two are still very different. Tupac Shakur will forever be a hip hop icon in his own right, remembered not only as a producer of timeless beats, but a voice for those experiencing hardships, violence, racism and other social problems in Harlem and the world he grew up in. The hip hop theme tastes quite a bit different for Lowkey and the artists at the Queen of Hoxton, who definitely embody relevant and purposeful hip hop beyond the melodies, rifts and hooks, but nevertheless they spit, speak and shout for a very different cause.

The Made In Palestine east London event in particular brought Lowkey and the other hip hop acts and fans together to fundraise for the Samouni Project.

Note: Whilst Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seem to chit chat, stall and chin chat some more over peace talks and the future of Palestine and Israel, Made In Palestine skipped that old tune, with hip hop activism including an interval session lead by Irish-American anti-war activist Kenneth O’Keefe; raising awareness and calling for direct action and support for the Samouni family that lost 48 members in a shell attack by Israeli forces in Gaza, January 2009.



Though there was no mention of ‘thug life’, Tupac himself was probably bopping from the heavens, as the Made In Palestine hip hop rumbling the Queen of Hoxton basement that night clearly had great political and social influence and integrity – and cannot be confused or even mentioned in the same breathe as ‘hip pop’. Peace signs, lighters and phones were up in the air for each act backing power to the Palestinian people, with DJ Snuff providing relentless backing track after track for Lowkey, Logic and the rest. Palestinian justice combined with the hip hop ‘stand up and be counted!’ heart beat was heavy, all the way through to the very end when we were treated to a cameo appearance by Akala (who nonchalantly stood behind me for much of the show), a new generation raw hip hop legend – as acclaimed by Lowkey.

So, I ask again – where are you hip hop? Substantial changes are evident, but my fanatic aforementioned friends should rest happy in the knowledge their hip hop is alive and kicking – they just have to look in the right places. Subsequently therein lays the other issue: How much/easily will they and you hear of this content? Are we expecting chart-toppers to emerge from the Queen of Hoxton – along with a YouTube sensation catchy dance routine to ‘Long Live Palestine’? Not sure about the first, and good God I hope not to the second. It is most probable the revolution will not be televised. But like with every hip hop generation (from Tupac to Lowkey) – what does that matter as long as the good word is spoken and the hip hop faithful are there to listen and act.

This is also published on the Media Trust Community Channel