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The culture of Palestine is celebrated in “Deira,” a new song and video from artists Saint Levant and MC Abdul released in the wake of Levant’s recent signing to Universal Arabic Music (UAM).
Levant is a singer, rapper and songwriter of Palestinian, Algerian, French and Serbian descent. MC Abdul is a 15-year-old rapper from Gaza whose 2021 viral hit, “Palestine,” brought him global prominence.
Done in the traditional Shaabi Arab musical style native to Algiers, “Deira” — which translates to “the Kasbah or “the old city” — is an homage to Levant’s lineage, with the video highlighting daily life, food, fashion, sports and more in the Middle East through a dreamy and nostalgic lens.
“Deira is the name of the hotel that my father Rashid, an architect, built with my mother in 2000 when they moved to Gaza,” Levant says in a statement. “He built this hotel with mud because it was impossible to import cement at the time. Located on the beach, this hotel was one of the most beautiful in Gaza, made up of 22 rooms. It was a true architectural marvel. On July 16, 2014, four children playing ball out front of the hotel were killed by Israeli rocket fire and most recently the hotel was totally destroyed by bombing three months ago.”
Trending on Billboard
MC Abdul — who left Gaza for the United States a month before the war started — delivers a verse acknowledging the current conflict with the lyrics, “Big dreams, heavy nights/praying that my family can stay alive/imagine trying to fly with no wings/but I promise you the caged bird sings.”
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Levant’s catalog includes a host of singles and two EPs, including 2023’s From Gaza, With Love. Based in Los Angeles, the artist recently signed to Universal Arabic Music (UAM) via a partnership with Republic Records and UMG launched by The Weeknd’s manager Wassim “Sal” Slaiby in 2021.
The Middle East has recently become a growth area for the music industry, with major labels like Universal setting up imprints and local offices there. Spotify launched in the Arab world in 2018, while Abu Dhabi-based streaming company Anghami received a $5 million investment from the venture capital arm of the Saudi Arabia media company SRMG last August. (SRMG is also behind the recently launched Billboard Arabia.) San Francisco-based distribution company EMPIRE has an operation covering the Middle East/North Africa, bringing on Spotify’s Suhel Nafar to oversee it in 2021.
The 2022 IFPI report notes that the Middle East and North African (MENA) region posted the world’s third-highest growth rate in 2022, seeing revenues from recorded music climb by 23.8%. Streaming accounted for the majority of the market, with those revenues making up a 95.5% share.
But the war in Gaza has disrupted that opportunity for many Palestinian acts, and increased attention around the conflict has not brought any significant streaming gains to Palestinian artists. MC Abdul’s global streaming numbers did, however, see a spike last fall in the weeks following the start of the war.
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Source: Greg Doherty / Getty
Tiffany Haddish went over to Israel to learn about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza and got emotional responding to the backlash over a social media post she made.
On Wednesday (February 21), comedienne and actress Tiffany Haddish addressed her trip to Israel, which she chronicled in a social media post earning her swift backlash over her demeanor. When asked by TMZ’s Harvey Levin about why she would make that trip, Haddish responded: “I can’t believe everything that I read. I want to go see for myself. I want to talk to the people that’s here, that actually had family members that were hostages taken out of their own homes.”
Haddish went on to say that she intended to also go to Gaza, which has seen over 30,000 Palestinians killed during bombings and military actions by the Israeli Defense Forces in their retaliation campaign against the Hamas militant group’s assault on October 7th, 2023, that claimed 1,200 lives. “I care about both sides, I care about humanity,” the Girls Trip actress continued: “I know there’s a lot of the religious stuff going on, control of the land… It’s about human beings. Human beings, man.”
Haddish has some kinship with the Jewish people of Israel, having had her ancestry confirmed five years ago after DNA testing. The now-deleted Instagram video showed the 44-year-old on the plane flight with a drink in hand, joking around. The responses to it were swift and furious, with one commenter named Catrina writing “Sippin on a mimosa on your way to go see a genocide is INSANE.” Some applauded Haddish and wished her a safe journey. The video was then deleted, and she reportedly lost over 14,000 followers.
Levin asked Haddish about the responses to that video. “That’s what I’m trying to tell y’all. I’m doing this by myself. I don’t have a whole family of men, or a man supporting me. I’m doing it on my own,” she said, choking up. “I’m learning on my own.” She added, “The average female wouldn’t have the courage to go see for themselves. There’s a lot of scary a— b———s out here, and y’all can be scared. But I’m gonna go ahead and follow my instincts.” She also referenced Mo’Nique, who had recently called her out in her Club Shay Shay podcast interview. The latest post on her Instagram account, a repost from a group called Louder Creators, appears to be taking shots at her critics of the trip.
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty / Cardi B
If you’re a political hopeful or veteran hoping for a Cardi B endorsement, it’s not coming. The Bronx rapper is washing her hands of politics.
The “Bodak Yellow” rapper is fed up with the current political system and expressed her frustrations during an Instagram Live session.
Cardi B, who has always been quite vocal about politics and what is happening in the country and globally, was BIG MAD about NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s proposed budget cuts.
Mayor Mixxy’s 5% budget cuts will affect a bunch of NYC departments to help compensate for the billions of dollars that the city has to spend to take care of asylum seekers who have come to the city.
The New York Post reports that Adams plans to cut $32 million from the sanitation department, $74 million from the FDNY, and $547 million from the Department of Education.
Adams will also be getting rid of a bunch of street garbage cans in the outer boroughs, and 34 popular cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History will see their budgets cut by $6 million, according to the New York Post.
Mayor Adams Reasoning For The Severe Cuts
Regardless of there being a legitimate reason for the severe cuts, the Grammy Award-winning artist is not here for them, claiming things like the city will be “drowning in rats” (that’s been a problem forever) due to cuts to sanitation and crime will “go through the roof” because of the cuts coming to the NYPD.
“In New York, there is a $120m budget cut that’s going to affect schools, public libraries, and the police department. And a $5m budget cut in sanitation … We are gonna be drowning in … rats,” Cardi B said during the live session.
Mayor Adams might be on the side of Cardi B, who warned that more cuts would be necessary without additional federal funding to help manage the influx of migrants in NYC.
Per The Guardian:
Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and [Covid-19] stimulus funding is drying up,” Adams said in a statement.
“No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, today’s budget will be only the beginning.
Cardi B Is No Longer Endorsing Presidents
The Biden Administration has not agreed to Mayor Adam’s pleas for funding amid the growing criticism for the continued funding to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion and Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas, something Bardi touched on in her passionate IG Live along with announcing she is no longer endorsing presidents.
“I’m endorsing no presidents no more,” Cardi B said. “Joe Biden is talking about, ‘Yeah, we can fund two wars,’… talking about, ‘Yeah, we got it, we’re the greatest nation.’ No … we’re not. We don’t got it, and we’re going through some shit right now. So say it!”
She continued, “We are really, really, really f**ked right now. No, we cannot fund these … wars.”
Someone asked if the country is going “broke,” she replied, “Yes, it is. We ain’t got McDonald’s money.” Despite her claims, the country has seen some solid economic numbers. You can read about that here.
Further condemning Biden’s alleged terrible handling of the economy and foreign policy, she said, “Feed that … to somebody else, twinkle, but don’t feed it to me.” She then promised to ” get to the bottom of it.”
We will await those findings.
X Users React
Elon Musk’s sorry platform X has been a hotbed for discourse since Israel began bombing Gaza in retaliation to Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7.
Many have called on political leaders, mainly Democrats, including President Joe Biden, to call for a ceasefire in protests across the globe.
Recently, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been the target of many protests, and other Democrats. Still, some are pointing out the fact that the House of Representatives is currently under Republican control and are wondering why that energy isn’t being applied to the GOP and its batsh*t crazy members.
Many responded to Cardi B’s video by pointing out that she was aiming her valid criticisms in the wrong direction and that the Biden/Harris administration has nothing to do with New York City’s budget.
One thing is for sure: the upcoming presidential election will be a hot mess. We hope Cardi B and others understand that there is a lot on the line with a GOP hell-bent on “Making America White oops Great Again.”
Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
2. Political Cardi is a hit with fans
6. Of course, you should not be shocked the MAGA folks will use this to their advantage.
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Drake was the target of criticism from the likes of DJ Vlad and others for not speaking up about the Israel-Gaza conflict due to his Jewish heritage. The Canadian superstar joined with a number of other celebrities in signing a letter addressed to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire in the war-torn region.
Via a dedicated website, Artists4Ceasefire hosts a letter addressed to President Biden that calls to end the conflict that continues to see massive casualties on both sides. With much of the world learning of the conflict by way of varying sources, a clear picture of what is occurring between Israel and Palestine has been hard to completely clarify. There have been accounts from the ground from activists using what means they can to inform the public.
From Artists4Ceasefire:
We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.
We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them.
We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.”
Among the dozens of stars to sign the letter, including Drake, other names present are Miguel, Diplo, Run The Jewels (El-P and Killer Mike), Vic Mensa, Jennifer Lopez, Mahershala Ali, Snoh Aalegra, and more.
Read the entire letter here.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
Shaun King is back in the headlines after getting into an online row with the families of freed American hostages in Israel.
The release of Judith and Natalie Raanan, hostages who were captured by the terrorist organization Hamas in their attack on the Gaza settlement in Israel on October 7, has led to a public feud between the activist Shaun King and their families. King claimed in a post on social media that he “worked frantically behind the scenes to help make this possible.” He also claimed that he worked “behind the scenes with an eclectic group of 30+ people that would normally never work together or get along”.
Judith and Natalie Raanan were visiting relatives when they were captured by the militants along with an estimated 200 other people. Their release was reportedly enabled through negotiations overseen by the Qatari government in coordination with the Biden administration, the International Red Cross, and the Israeli government. The women are currently in the protection of the Israeli military.
Relatives of the Raanans refuted King’s claims in a statement issued to TMZ. “First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying! Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent,” it said.
Shaun King, whose online fundraising efforts and zealous promises falling short have earned him heavy criticism in the past, fired back in his response to The Daily Beast. “I spoke directly and repeatedly with this family. I have a job, career, and family. I would be throwing everything away to make such a thing up. Thankfully I kept records of all of them,” he wrote in the email. He would then post a statement from Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie, through his account on X, formerly Twitter, and claim they had been in contact on October 9 before posting images of their chats.
Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, did note that Ben had spoken with King. “Ben, my son was talking with him without anybody in the family knowing about it until today,” he said after being contacted by the press. “Our family in Israel posted this statement denying we knew him before we learned about Ben talking to him. We have nothing further to say.”
To say that the Israel-Gaza conflict is divisive would be an understatement.