Remedy and Killa Priest, members of the Wu-Tang Clan’s “exteneded family” left Israel last week after a series of several performances. The following is a review of one of the shows that I wrote for the Jerusalem Post. It’s a bit cheesy - but it’s the Post so what do you expect? Enjoy.
REMEDY & KILLA PRIEST
Yellow Submarine
Jerusalem
Judging by the crowd’s reaction to the hip-hop performance of visiting
American rappers Remedy and Killa Priest, you would never know that there
were sound problems of any sort. Instead, a mixed crowd of Jerusalemite hip-
hoppers welcomed the chance to bounce along to freestyle raps and rehearsed
rhymes at the capital’s Yellow Submarine Saturday night as the Wu Tang Clan
rappers shared the stage with local talent.
Israeli rapper Ilan Babylon warmed up the crowd, talking about Jewish pride
and Zionism. In an almost surreal display of national pride, he led the
crowd in chants of ‘Am Yisrael Chai.’ This wasn’t a show for post- Zionists.
Proclaiming that the concert represented a stand against terror, Babylon had
the crowd chanting along as proud Israeli/Jewish/Zionists/Lovers of Hip Hop.
It became obvious through the night that this trip had had a serious effect
on the Jewish rapper Remedy. By employing an aggressive lyrical attack, his
effect on the audience was even more powerful. He expressed awe at the
‘historical, spiritual, and biblical’ expanse of Jerusalem, and thanked the
people of Israel’s capital for coming out to celebrate and staying brave in
the face of terror.
Whether he realized it or not, Remedy had the audience in the palm of his
hand. They were hanging on to his every word. At one point in the show, he
led the audience in an expletive-laden rant against any and all persecutors
of the Jewish people, leading into a powerful rendition of his well-known
song ‘Never Again.’
Killa Priest announced that they were heading to Haifa for a late-night
performance following the Jerusalem show, but reminded the audience that
they’d be back in three days. The comment went right over the heads of the
young Jewish audience.
Lukas Brenowitz, a former employee of the Israeli Consulate in New York, and
the mover and shaker behind the performance, told me before the show that he
wanted to bring Remedy and Killa Priest here to inspire the Israeli people
during these troubled times. And Remedy, performing the ultimate mitzva,
gave his young audience - haunted by over two years of violence - something
that the folk styling of Shlomo Artzi and David Broza can’t provide: a
release.
At the end of the show, Remedy invited all the local MCs in the audience to
join him on stage. Mixing Hebrew with English lyrics, the rookies showed
that hip hop truly crosses any geographical boundaries.
I didn’t realize that Prime Minister Sharon was such a fan of R&B. First he met Michael Jackson.
And today he met Whitney “uberdiva” Houston and her hubby Bobby “Mr. Telephone Man” Brown.
Whitney and Bobby are here on a “personal” trip. They are spending most of their time in Dimona hanging with the Black Hebrews. My sources have informed me that she is planning a Christmas special and would like to film it here in Israel.
It would be too easy to criticize Whitney for her turbulent past. I won’t though. All I have to say is kol ha’kavod (all the respect) for coming here at this difficult time. Hopefully, more celebrities will follow her lead. I received a copy of a personal letter Whitney and Bobby sent to Benny Alon thanking him for making their trip a memorable one.
Apparently in the meeting with PM Sharon, Sharon asked Whitney how she felt about her trip to Israel.
She replied, “It feels like home. It feels like home.”
Thanks for coming Whitney. I will always love you, my love is your love…I’m your baby tonight.
Dear theviewfromhere.net
Poor, Poor Blog. I apologize for ignoring you. I have so many different excuses for not updating you. Between my job, my computer being on the fritz and buying a house I have been too busy. Please accept my apologies. In the coming days, my witty banter and complaining will resume and I will continue plaguing the internet with nonsense and drivel.
Best,
Harry
PS Nir Barkat better win the Jerusalem Mayoral election.
Yet another suicide bomber killed 3 people and wounded 15 in a mall in the northern town of Afula.
This is the FIFTH suicide bombing in two days.
There are plenty of things on my mind to blog about but after the past couple of days they just seem trivial.
.
Victims of yesterday’s suicide bombing in Jerusalem
Marina Tsahivershvili, 44
Marina Tsahivershvili, who emigrated from Georgia seven years ago, was “a very dedicated and responsible kitchen worker” at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where she prepared breakfast for the children and the hospital’s clinics for the past 3.5 years. According to her boss, she was a kind woman who was always willing to volunteer, being among the first to offer her help following previous terror attacks in Jerusalem. “We lost a dear woman,” Shaare Zedek director Prof. Yonatan Levy eulogized at her funeral. “It’s a shame she also fell victim to the bloody conflict between us and the Palestinians.”
Nelly Perov, 55
On Saturday night, Nelly Perov and her daughter Lana, 20, celebrated that it had been three years since they immigrated to Israel from Kazakhstan. A few hours later, Nelly left home to go to her cleaning job, getting on the No. 6 Egged bus. Her 35-year-old son, Andre, came to Israel before them and lives in Rishon Letzion with his family. Yesterday, Andre spoke of how Nelly loved to be with her children and how she loved life. Lana said the moment she learned of the attack, she feared the worst - that her mother was on that bus, as she was every morning. Nelly Perov will be laid to rest on Thursday at 5 P.M.
Olga Brenner, 52
Olga Brenner was on her way to work with her daughter Svetlana when the suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt on bus No. 6 in Jerusalem yesterday morning. Olga was killed instantly, while Svetlana, 28, sustained serious injuries from a piece of shrapnel that penetrated her skull. “I love her. You only have one wife and I will not marry again. There is no other woman like Olga; she loved the family and the children very much,” Olga’s husband, Gregory, said yesterday. Olga Brenner will be laid to rest today at the Har Hamenuchot cemetery in the capital. She is survived by her husband, her daughter and her son, Arkadi.
Yitzhak Moyal, 64
Yitzhak Moyal immigrated to Israel from Morocco in 1960, together with his nine brothers and sisters. He was killed yesterday on his way to work at the central post office in downtown Jerusalem. He was described by family members as a dedicated worker who never once missed a shift. After each terror attack in the city, Yitzhak would call home to allay his family’s fears; this time, however, when no call came to the family home, his wife, Rina, understood he had been killed. Yitzhak, who was laid to rest yesterday at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem, is survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters and 12 grandchildren.
Shimon Ostinsky, 68
Shimon Ostinsky’s family realized their loved one had been killed even before receiving official confirmation of his death. Shimon, who worked at a parking garage in downtown Jerusalem, always took the first bus from the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood into the city. When his family heard of the terror attack, they knew he was on the bus. Shimon and his family came to Israel from Kiev some 12 years ago. Prior to his immigration, he worked as a lecturer in economics, but never complained about his job as a parking garage attendant. He is survived by his wife, Alexandra, two children and two grandchildren.
Roni Yisraeli, 34
Roni Yisraeli was on his way to work as manager of the Har Nof Supersol supermarket when the terrorist boarded the No. 6 bus yesterday morning. A few months ago, Roni, his wife Siggi and their two daughters, ages 3 and 8, moved to their new apartment in East Pisgat Ze’ev. Usually, Siggi used the family car to go to work as a secretary in the Jerusalem College of Management. Shoppers at the supermarket said they remembered the 34-year-old manager, a longtime Supersol employee, as kind and considerate. He was the fourth of six brothers and three sisters and leaves his parents, siblings and his wife and children.
Ghalab Tawil, 42
Ghalab Tawil earned a livelihood for his four sons and five daughters by working as a cleaning man at Hadassah Hospital, leaving his home at the far end of the Shuafat refugee camp every morning at 5 A.M. to make the first bus to the hospital. Ghalab was the second resident of the camp killed recently by a Palestinian terrorist attack. The previous fatality was a 19-year-old truck driver shot to death by a Hamas gunman at the Karni junction three weeks ago. Almost immediately after the bombing at French Hill, police closed off Shuafat, not letting anyone out or in. Only in the late afternoon did police locate Tawil’s family, taking one member to identify the body at the Abu Kabir Forensic Medicine Institute.
HELP!
I am looking for an article that I read about a month ago about the International Solidarity Movement. It a feature article written by a Jewish woman from an alternative weekly from either Washington or Oregon. I have no recollection of the name of the author or the name of the periodical.
I am also looking for a copy of Blood of Abraham’s debut album Future Prophets on CD (mint condition).
Thanks!
Sometimes real life gets in the way of things we really want to do.
Sorry about the light blogging.
Life. It’s busy, ain’t it?
MTV has chosen a new VJ from Israel for MTV Europe. They held auditions about a month ago. I auditioned assuming that I was a sure thing. I’m funny, moderately good-looking and I know my music.
I was told by the producers that my appearance is “too Jewish,” “The Ben Stiller look is so 1999″ and worst of all � my accent is “too New York.”
I then jumped up on the table and shouted “anarchy!” “Down with corporate pop! Death to contrived pop-stars!” “Long live The High Windows!”
Needless to say, they weren’t impressed.
Ok, I admit, the above didn’t happen. But wouldn’t it have been funny if it did?
I am reorganizing all of my links. I removed the war in Iraq blogs and created a new list called ‘jew blogs’.
Three new blogs have been added, Jew School, Hasidic Rebel and Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.
UPDATE: Also added Protocols and Just Another Rant
GO JEWS GO!
While searching for an ancient Talmud, a US Army mobile exploitation team that has been searching for nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in Iraq found something completely different. They came upon the Israel/Palestine department of the Mukhabarat.
From the New York Times:
Team members floated out of the room a perfect mock-up of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, as well as mock-ups of downtown Jerusalem and official Israeli buildings in very fine detail. They also collected a satellite picture of Dimona, Israel’s nuclear complex, and a female mannequin dressed in an Israeli Air Force uniform, standing in front of a list of Israeli officers’ ranks and insignia.
Unfortunately, they didn’t find the seventh century Talmud they were looking for.
Full report here.
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