Here’s a mix I can really recommend! Drawing from Aljazeera’s Poets of Protest project – a wonderful collection of videos featuring six contemporary Middle East poets – DJ Boo has created a mix after my own heart. The Filipino-American DJ Boo (the man behind Nomadic Wax’s Home mix a month or two back) layers poetic voices over Omar Offendum‘s hip hop beats. It’s not long, but it’s a powerful and nicely woven set of spoken and beats rhythms. And its heart is deep.
You can listen on Soundcloud:

or via YouTube:

The four poets sampled are Mazen Maarouf (Palestine), Manal Al Sheikh (Iraq), Ahmed Fouad Negm (Egypt) & Hala Mohammad (Syria) – from the Poets of Protest series.

I also really recommend heading to the Poets of Protest website to watch the video pieces which also feature Yehia Jaber of Lebanon and Al Khadra of Algeria / Sahara) as well as translations of all their verses and links to more of their inspiring work.

“It is our hope”, says Offendum, “that this project can serve as a bridge between lovers of poetry and hip-hop – between America and the Arab World – between generations, languages, cultures and continents.” Truth to that! Read also DJ Boo’s blog about the idea, and the collaboration, at Left Handed Saint.