video screening 05/03 via Cinema Politica for Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 in Montreal.
music video by Shadia Mansour filmed in occupied Palestine “Al Kufiyyeh 3arabeyyeh”
Official music video for the single “Al Kufiyyeh 3arabeyyeh” (The Kufiyeh is Arab) by celebrated Palestinian hip-hop artist Shadia Mansour, featuring M1 of Dead Prez. Video shot and edited by Nana Dankwa.
For Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 this video will show at the Cinema Politica screening of Tears of Gaza. Disturbing, powerful and emotionally devastating, Tears of Gaza is less a conventional documentary than a record – presented with minimal gloss – of the 2008 to 2009 bombing of Gaza by the Israeli military. Photographed by several Palestinian cameramen both during and after the offensive, this powerful film by director Vibeke Løkkeberg focuses on the impact of the attacks on the civilian population.
As authentic as the heavily-embroidered thawb she wears during her performances, British-born Palestinian Shadia Mansour has independently become one of the leading female Arabic MCs worldwide. Her natural and flawless ability to switch between rapping and singing is rapidly becoming a cultural phenomenon. Shadia delivers her taunting voice, both mournful and mesmerizing, over Arabic phrases of loss, longing, struggle and life.
- Photo: Darren Ell Palestinian artist Shadia Mansour sings with Keffiyeh.
In June 2011 Shadia Mansour performed in Montreal as part of the Artists Against Apartheid concert series that unites artists in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation and specifically in support of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Shadia Mansour started singing at the tender age of 5 years old, appearing on various Arabic, British, American TV and radio shows. Mansour is currently working on her highly anticipated (yet to be titled) album featuring many of the top producers of the industry. Last summer Shadia toured the US and received a tremendous welcome in Chicago, Milwaukee and San Francisco. Recently Shadia was invited to take part in “Symphony Arabica” and performed in a sold out 4 city tour including a children’s choir of 50. Shadia also opened the Annual Black August Benefit for Political Prisoners alongside hip-hop legends Q-Tip, EPMD, Bilal, Blackmoon and Immortal Technique.
