& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Syria conflicts finds a voice in hip-hop

SOURCE: BBC
As the conflict in Syria rages, the violence and chaos is finding expression among writers and musicians, including one hip-hop act from Damascus, write Samer Mohajer and Fay Rajpar in Beirut.
"To be honest, I don't really like hip hop. I don't like the music."
My apparently unenthusiastic neighbour at a concert given by Syrian hip hop group LaTlateh in Beirut seemed to be in good company.
Crammed into a tiny, smoky concert hall, most of the unsmiling crowd was sitting at tables, and not a single person was dancing.
This was not a typical hip-hop concert.
A Western observer might put the limp atmosphere down to the fact that the culture of hip-hop is still fledgling in the Arab world, its development stunted by its incompatibility with some Arab regimes.
In fact, hip-hop has never been so popular in the Middle
Music and revolution have always gone hand-in-hand and the Arab Spring is no exception.
The Syrian uprising is providing optimum conditions for straight-talking rap to flourish, and one particular Syrian band, LaTlateh, are articulating the feelings of a nation.
"I don't like the music, but I like the words. I am Syrian. I feel the words. The lyrics really express my feelings. We aren't dancing because we are listening to the lyrics,” my neighbour said.
LaTlateh is a Damascus-based three-piece hip-hop outfit comprising Al Sayyed Darwish, Watar and Abu Kbulthoum. They perform alongside producer Dab Snakkr, whose music documents the day-to-day struggle of the Syrian uprising.
"The situation in Syria is what motivates us to write. How can we sit by and watch all the pain and suffering that is going on around us and not speak out?”
In the first few months of the revolution, so much of Syria's cultural elite left the country, either hounded by the regime or in search of better working conditions.
LaTlateh has garnered a huge following across the region because they remained in their base in Damascus, travelling between the embatded capital and Lebanon. They write lyrics about Syrians, for a Syrian audience.
The boys, along with a wider group of Arab musicians, are contributing peacefully to the popular uprising through a movement called The Third Line.
The Third Line advocates a third alternative to the existing pro- and anti-regime dichotomy, and aims to uphold the truth and serve Syria's national interests.
"Everybody has a view but there is hypocrisy on all sides. We are trying to find the truth. The third line is about breaking down divisions because each party is only benefiting from its own side," Dab Snakkr said.
The group want to promote freedom of expression and democracy and are against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Each member brings to the table his own interpretation of the situation in Syria, reflecting the conflicting opinions that exist in Syrian society.
The development of hip-hop in Syria has not just been limited by the political situation. Most Syrians' experience of rap has been through mainstream US or British artistes, rapping about issues alien to most of Syrian society.
But there are some aspects of rap which parallel oral traditions in the Middle East — from the 1,000-year old Levantine tradition of Zajal, semi-sung, semi-spoken poetry battles akin to modern day rap batdes, to the revered oral story-telling tradition of the Hakawati.
The situation in Syria has forced Syrian hip-hop onto the international stage. Political oppression means they can no longer perform in Syria and now LaTlateh is forced to widen its audience and travels the Middle East to per-
For Dab Snakkr so far the uprising has meant that LaTlateh can express itself in a way they hope can be preserved, whatever the future holds for Syria.