Spin Takes A Turn With ISRAEL21c

March 30, 2009 - 11:28 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Pop Culture, Sports 

ISRAEL21c is now a contributor to SPIN Earth, a new web video initiative from SPIN Magazine. The first video up: a profile of the Israel Parkour Team, who use the sidewalks and walls of Tel Aviv as their training ground.

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British rapper raps Israeli security

March 5, 2009 - 10:06 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Politics, Pop Culture, Travel, War, coexistence 

Lowkey - unwelcome in Israel?

Lowkey - unwelcome in Israel?

Any visitor to Israel who’s entered or left the country via Ben-Gurion airport can tell you stories about the security there. Especially, if you don’t fall into the ‘Jewish visitor’ category.

For better or worse, we invented profiling – if you stray outside of their accepted categories of low risk visitor – for instance if you’re black, or Muslim – or if you’re a radical British rapper with ‘Long Live Palestine’ splashed across your Myspace page – you better be prepared for some grilling and some uncomfortable moments.

Justified? Well, yeah. The ultimate goal is to prevent people dying in a terror attack. Could we do it in a friendlier, gentler way that doesn’t create long-standing bitter feelings? Well, yeah.

But it’s still hard to swallow the sour grapes spewed by minor talent British rapper Lowkey, of the hip-hop/indie left-wing collective Mongrel who claimeed he was recently detained at the airport for nine hours.

According to the British New Musical Express, the rapper had been travelling to Tel Aviv to take part in a series of charity shows in the country, and in the Palestinian Authority to raise funds to help rebuild the Gaza Strip.

“As soon as I stepped off the plane with my AA guide to Israel tucked under my arm, I was pulled away to the side and interrogated as to why I was in Israel, by a man who wore no uniform identifying himself as any type of security but was clearly heavily armed,” Lowkey explained.

“After this I carried on through to passport control. After giving over my British passport it was confiscated. I was then detained for nine hours. During this time I was interrogated about many aspects of my life, what the purpose of my trip was, where my parents are from and where I planned to go in Israel.

“Eventually I was told my story was a lie and was subjected to a bout of the Israeli polices paranoid mind games. I was eventually released, knowing that no matter how frustrating what I just went through was, I knew that it was not even a miniscule fraction of the degradation Palestinian people are subjected to on a daily basis.”

Well, thanks for the soap box, Lowkey. I haven’t received an answer yet from the airport authority regarding the validity of the events as Lowkey related them. But as one commenter to the NME story responded:

Maybe it had something to do with the fact you have – LONG LIVE PALESTINE TOUR IN PALESTINE!!!!. across your MYSPACE page you d***… of course they are gonna watch your arse when you step foot off the plane…

It’s unclear whether Lowkey actually performed in Israel or raised any money to rebuild Gaza. But I would bet money that he didn’t visit Sderot or Ashkelon during his stay here.

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Jazzy Jay and other esoteria

January 5, 2009 - 11:40 PM by Harry · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Music, Pop Culture 

Jazzy JayJust because the Israeli concert-going market can’t support more than one or two performances from A-list-ers like Paul McCartney each summer, doesn’t mean that we need to deal with washed-up international talents like Deep Purple the rest of the time.

The best of the not-quite-mainstream pop talent whose art is uncompromised, esoteric and less disposable have been entertaining us here more and more often, whether it’s Devendra Bernhardt, Low, Blonde Redhead, Lee “Scratch” Perry or Morrissey. Thankfully, more and more performers along these lines have been making their way to Israeli stages in recent years.

And despite the ongoing violence in the south of the country in recent weeks, the show must go on. No notices announcing a cancellation of this Friday’s Urbanology Festival have reached this cultural correspondent’s desk so far, which means that old-school talent DJ Jazzy Jay is still expected to hit the decks this weekend at the Cult Club at Herzl St. 154, Tel Aviv (tickets available at 057-777-4422).

Jazzy Jay is one of the founding fathers of hip hop. A scratch turntablism pioneer, he spun at street parties in the Bronx in the late Seventies and in downtown Manhattan clubs in the early Eighties. Part of Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation collective, Jay was also a co-founder of the influential Def Jam Recordings. His “It’s Yours” single was the label’s first-ever release, and he helped broker the partnership between notorious trailblazing rap moguls Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. His own Jazzy Jay’s Studio was an early home to luminaries like A Tribe Called Quest Brand Nubian.

Jay comes to Israel for the Cult Club’s Urbanology party, branded as a celebration of everything associated with old-school hip hop culture – rap, breakdancing, graffiti and more. Events like these have been taking place at venues across Israel for years, but none with a marquee performer of this stature. Other participants include local talents like the disco funk-fixated DJ Alarm, DJ Mesh, local old-schoolers Quami and Kottage, the Tachlis Band and alt-rappers Peled and Ortega.

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Here’s Johnny

December 22, 2008 - 10:21 AM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture, Profiles 

The cover of The Johnny Show

The cover of The Johnny Show

One of my highlights last week was getting to meet Yonatan Goldstein aka Johnny, an engaging, bright 17-year-old senior who lives with his parents outside of Jerusalem in the upper class suburb of Motza Illit.

Johnny has that musical gift, and unlike many of us who never develop their seed of talent over the course of a lifetime, he lives and breathes music. This kid has a home studio, he’s produced albums for hip hop artists like Sagol 59, and he’s got his own dazzling versatile album out now called The Johnny Show, which features guests like Hadag Nahash, Shlomi Shaban and Useless ID. And he’s still going to high school, for pete’s sake.

And to top all that, he’s the sweetest kid you’d ever want to meet – soft-spoken, shy and earnest, but with a constant smile on his face. I guess this could be a story about a teen anywhere, but what struck me as being a uniquely Israeli version of the gifted kid makes good, is the fact that next year Johnny’s going to put aside his fast-track career and devote three years to serving his country in the army.

He told me that he hopes to serve in the entertainment troupes and continue playing music, but if it turns out that he ends up in a combat unit, he’s ready and willing. I guess there’s nothing special there either, as most of the 18-year-olds here don’t have much of a choice in what branch of the service they end up in.

But I’m hoping that Johnny is given the chance to play his keyboards or drums, or produce IDF band albums, or in some way, be allowed to continue exploring his muse. And that his smile continues to stay on his face and brighten everyone else’s.

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