In a room where sunshine peeps
and butterflies are doona warm
she takes care of me
breath lighter than clouds
my only oxygen, cushioning
nose to button nose, powdery skin
her small hand, brushes away
the hair, from my face
she traces my eyebrows
says they’re her rainbows you’re Alice in wonder
but i’m not, i’m not you are, Mummy, you are
you’re Alice in wonder
in pitch-fork nights
she takes my hand why you sad, Mummy?
why you sad?
Mummy just needs to cry but why, Mummy, why?
You know when you cry
because you can’t find your dolly?
Mummy just needs to find her dolly Here, I cuddle you, Mummy, cuddle
when she’s nowhere to be seen
and her toys whisper in hisses
when books are swallowed
then burned at the stake
The politically conscious hip-hop group The Brothahood ask ‘Why?’
Five Muslim spoken-word/rap artists born in Australia with Lebanese backgrounds, The Brothahood are smashing stereotypes with their album Lyrics of mass construction, and tracks like ‘Why?’ When I accidentally stumbled across them a few months ago I was asking myself why haven’t I heard of these guys? All of Australia needs to turn off their televisions and listen:
Now if a wake up one morning and grow myself a beard
people start talkin and getting themselves scared
but – Mr Goldberg he lives down the block
when he grows a beard no-one ever gets a shock
why when my sister walks properly dressed
she wears a headscarf they think she’s oppressed?
then you got the nuns dressed in black and white head to toe
but no-one questions them – why – i dont know
Hesh, Ahmed, Moustafa, Jehad and Timur work full-time jobs, live on opposite sides of the city in suburbia and struggle to find time to come together, but when they do, they produce raw and confronting material that challenges the propagandist mainstream newsfeeds the Australian public sees every day. They may not have flashy video clips but the content is honest and allows the Muslim voice in Australia, commonly silenced by fear, to be heard.
Only recently introduced to their work, by the Nothing rhymes with RRR podcast, my initial reaction was: why aren’t these guys funded by an arts council? Why do these guys have to struggle to create? Governments complain of the racism in Australia but do nothing about it. Why not start by funding people like The Brothahood and other diverse voices from different backgrounds? Only through art can we appreciate the many cultures we have in Australia.
The Brothahood began their career years ago as spoken-word artists performing with a beat boxer and have since incorporated music in their performances. Their track ‘The Silent Truth’, a response to the Cronulla riots, was featured on Triple J’s Unearthed in 2007:
I can feel ya eyes on me but i aint in the wrong
keepin to yourself scared that my beard hides a bomb
tensions climbin higher than that ape king kong
label me a thug coz i’m from Lebanon
butcha WRONG, im like any other aussie
try to ride a train but u always gotta stop me
coz of 9/11 now you all wanna wanna drop me
little do you know that your thinkins kinda sloppy
But The Brothahood don’t only write about issues faced by Muslims in Australia. My favourite track is ‘Act on It’, which voices anger over the state of Israel and the suffering of Palestinians:
It was born on injustice, theft and murder
Driving Palestinians out further and further
Now don’t get me wrong Judaism ain’t to blame
But we must understand that Zionism ain’t the same
Now I know you’re mad at me, blunt brutality
The Z ain’t got no links to Jewish spirituality
Huh, now you wanna twist, call me terrorist
Yes, I’m anti Zionist, Expect me to resist
This Thursday morning(tomorrow) 15 July from 9–9:30, I’ll be interviewing Jehad from The Brothahood on 3CR’s Spoken Word program (855 AM). We’ll be discussing spoken word, lyrics and politics. You can also listen online at www.3cr.org.au
The Muslim voice pushing through
July 14, 2010 at 10:22 am (Creative commentary, Cultural writing (migrants), Politics, Reviews) (3CR, conscious hip-hop, muslim artists, Spoken Word, The Brothahood)
The politically conscious hip-hop group The Brothahood ask ‘Why?’
Five Muslim spoken-word/rap artists born in Australia with Lebanese backgrounds, The Brothahood are smashing stereotypes with their album Lyrics of mass construction, and tracks like ‘Why?’ When I accidentally stumbled across them a few months ago I was asking myself why haven’t I heard of these guys? All of Australia needs to turn off their televisions and listen:
Hesh, Ahmed, Moustafa, Jehad and Timur work full-time jobs, live on opposite sides of the city in suburbia and struggle to find time to come together, but when they do, they produce raw and confronting material that challenges the propagandist mainstream newsfeeds the Australian public sees every day. They may not have flashy video clips but the content is honest and allows the Muslim voice in Australia, commonly silenced by fear, to be heard.
Only recently introduced to their work, by the Nothing rhymes with RRR podcast, my initial reaction was: why aren’t these guys funded by an arts council? Why do these guys have to struggle to create? Governments complain of the racism in Australia but do nothing about it. Why not start by funding people like The Brothahood and other diverse voices from different backgrounds? Only through art can we appreciate the many cultures we have in Australia.
The Brothahood began their career years ago as spoken-word artists performing with a beat boxer and have since incorporated music in their performances. Their track ‘The Silent Truth’, a response to the Cronulla riots, was featured on Triple J’s Unearthed in 2007:
But The Brothahood don’t only write about issues faced by Muslims in Australia. My favourite track is ‘Act on It’, which voices anger over the state of Israel and the suffering of Palestinians:
This Thursday morning(tomorrow) 15 July from 9–9:30, I’ll be interviewing Jehad from The Brothahood on 3CR’s Spoken Word program (855 AM). We’ll be discussing spoken word, lyrics and politics. You can also listen online at www.3cr.org.au
First published on Overland 12/07/2010
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