featuring Palestinian artist Shadia Mansour. photo via Tamara Abdul Hadi

Thursday June 9, 2011
doors 8pm, $12-14
Sala Rossa
4848 St. Laurent
metro Laurier or bus 55
facebook event

Join us for an evening of rhymes and resistance from Turtle Island to Palestine, featuring celebrated singer and MC Shadia Mansour. Artists Against Apartheid XVI is taking place as part of the Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival, a leading avant-garde and experimental music festivals that aims to celebrate “liberation music”- namely, music that is inspired by freedom of expression and rooted in social movements.

performances by

Shadia Mansour

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.

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.

The Narcicyst

Yassin Alsalman, the celebrated Iraqi MC known as The Narcicyst, mixes unique beats with smart, socially-conscious lyrics, weaving a complex narrative that spans the Arab and Western world. Alsalman is originally from Basra, Iraq, was raised in Dubai and is now living in Montreal. The Narcicyst’s recently released self-titled studio album, is catching attention around the globe. P.H.A.T.W.A., the album’s first single, was accompanied by a flashy music video which chronicles Alsalman’s experience with a post-9/11 U.S. border interrogation when he attempted to travel to New York City for a concert. Additionally “Hamdulillah” a collaboration with Shadia Mansour was launched between cities around the world and widely celebrated. In the past month Alsalman released “#Jan25” a tribute to the uprising in Egypt with hip-hop artist Omar Offendum, the track was distributed widely on-line and was featured on Al Jazeera. Alsalman has shared the stage with hip-hop luminaries such as Talib Kweli, Kanye West, A-Trak and Dead Prez and his work has been covered widely in the press both in North America and the Middle East. www.iraqisthebomb.com

Samian

Algonquin hip-hop artist Samian raps about the realities of life on First Nations reserves in Quebec and has a growing following on reserves and in Quebec’s cities, also striking a chord in hip-hop communities everywhere. Samian raps on indigenous people in Quebec, whose chart-topping hit La Paix des Braves, a duet with Quebec hip-hop crew Loco Locass, appeals for solidarity between Québécois and indigenous people. Having recently collaborated with Sans Pression on Premières nations, his socially conscious lyrics and commitment to justice have helped cement his role as a key voice in the Montreal contemporary hip-hop scene. Samian is a signatory of the Artists Against Israeli Apartheid declaration issued to the public in the winter of 2010 in support of the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli apartheid. www.samian.ca

DJ Andy Williams

DJ Andy Williams is highly-respected deejay and radio host in Montreal with a growing international recognition, spinning regularly in Europe and the Caribbean. Andy’s collaborations with various deejays and musicians reaches to and from many sources globally: Andy has had the opportunity to grace the turntables with many underground music-makers & curatorial peers who have the utmost respect for obscure rarities in dancefloor tracks. It wasn’t easy at first playing mediums of ethnic backgrounds such as Cumbia Paseito, Mento, Avant-Garde Jazz, Funk and hard hitting Electro sounds in North America and Europe, but it’s nothing new to intelligent avid listeners since the mid-century.

This is the sixteenth edition of Artists Against Apartheid in Montreal, occurring in the context of the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.

Suoni Per Il Popolo Music Festival www.suoniperilpopolo.org

Tadamon! Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

advance tickets available at the following locations for $12

Casa Del Popolo / Sala Rossa / Sala Office
Entre midi et 8 PM tous les jours sauf le dimanche au 4871 boul. St-Laurent.
Tél. : 514-284-0122

Atom Heart
364-B Rue Sherbrooke
Tél: 514-843-8484

Cheap Thrills
2044 Metcalfe St. 2e étage
Tél : 514-844-8988

L’Oblique
4333 rue Rivard
Tél: 514-499-1323

Phonopolis
5403A Parc
Tél: 514-270-4442

co-presented by

2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
Art Threat
CKUT radio
Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), McGill University
Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University
Suoni Per Il Popolo Music Festival
Tadamon! Montréal
Wired on Words