Marcy Newman on "why hip-hop is necessary" -- gaza, sri lanka, etc.

Tweet Portion of article below; whole here:
http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/on-why-hip-hop-is-necessary/

one of the reasons i so love rap music and hip hop culture is because so much of it–or at least the stuff i listen to–has such smart lyrics, amazing politics, and usually amazing sounds. but also i love it because i see it as a form of resistance. dam does this for palestine. k’naan does this for somalia. the narcicyst does this for iraq. m.i.a. (a.k.a. maya arulpragasam) does this for tamils in sri lanka. i found an interview she did with tavis smiley (who is as clueless as riz khan when it comes to interviewing people) and she does an amazing job of discussing the political crisis in sri lanka and the genocide against the tamil people: [embedded video of MIA -- go to link at top to see these -- linda]

socially and politically conscious rap artists have such a crucial role to play in stopping the demonization of people that lead people in the west to call those marginalized people who face ethnic cleansing and genocide “terrorists” when the reality is they are all subjected to state terrorism supported by the united states. all of the groups above that i mentioned, and all of whom i’ve blogged about previously, sing and speak eloquently and brilliantly about the situation where they live, or if like m.i.a., as refugees. as i’ve blogged previously i’m so struck by the parallels between palestinians and tamils in sri lanka in the current genocide underway in sri lanka. there are more that emerge every day. david batty wrote for the guardian the other day about a doctor reporting on the attacks on civilians by the sri lankan government against the tamil population and the story sounds so much like gaza:

A massive artillery barrage by the Sri Lankan army last night killed at least 257 civilians and left another 814 wounded in the small strip of territory that remains under the control of Tamil Tiger rebels.

A doctor working in the warzone described the assault as the bloodiest he had seen in the government’s offensive against the Tamil Tigers.

Dr V Shanmugarajah said he feared many more may have been killed since some bodies were being buried on the spot without being brought to the makeshift hospital he runs.

Shanmugarajah described seeing shells fly through the air, with some falling close to the hospital, forcing many to flee to bunkers for shelter.

The rebel-linked TamilNet website said about 2,000 people were feared dead. It accused Sri Lankan forces of launching the attack, a charge the military denied.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said it was only using small arms in its effort to wipe out the Tamil Tiger rebel group and there “is no shelling taking place”.

The government had sent medical supplies into the warzone in recent days but a shortage of doctors, nurses and helpers has made treatment difficult, Shanmugarajah said.

“We are doing the first aid and some surgeries as quickly as we can. We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming; nothing is within our control,” he said. Shanmugarajah said he had sought the help of volunteers to dig graves.

The government vowed two weeks ago to cease firing heavy weapons into the tiny coastal strip that remained under rebel control in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. But medical officials in the area have reported that air strikes and artillery attacks have continued unabated, despite the presence of an estimated 50,000 civilians in the tiny conflict zone.