Fearing that their country could slip back to another civil war over the ongoing political tension, young Lebanese are resorting to poetry and songs to bridge the gaps.
"You don't need to explain war ...we are soldiers struggling ...for peace, for better days. Throw roses and hold hands," sings Rajab Abdel-Rahman.
"Rebellion. It is forbidden to remain silent," added RGB, the stage name of the hip-hop artist, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Political tensions have been running high in Lebanon for months after an opposition ministerial walkout and an open-ended protest demanding a national unity government or snap polls.
The political situation has triggered clashes between the opposition and government supporters, sparking fears of a new civil war in the Arab country.
With a breakneck rendition of rythmic lyrics, Abdel-Rahman warns that continued political divisions may throw the country back into the harrowing chaos and violence of the years of civil war it endured between 1975 and 1990.
His songs express his generation's longing for peace, freedom and rebellion from the constraints of a rigidly conservative region.
The 26-year-old also voices his fellows' urban angst stemming from deep social problems, poverty, emigration and confessionalism.
"We are people from all walks of life, from different regions and religions, Christians and Muslims," said Abdel-Rahman, who grew up in Beirut's popular Sunni neighborhood of Basta which was one of the areas where street fights broke out in January.
"That is why our group is called Qitaa Beirut , which means we form a united Beirut, neither East nor West Beirut.
"We are joined by mutual respect. This is our message and the politicians should take this example," he added.
"Instead of using weapons, we express our opinions with words, music and dance. This is what the new generation is about."
Abdel-Rahman's troupe is rapping in a Lebanese Arabic dialect, but the performers are dressed in typical Western hip-hop accoutrement: baseball caps switched sideways, oversized sweatshirts with hoods or over-shirts nearly reaching down to their knees.
But unlike Western hip-hop, Lebanese rappers generally do not resort to insults or praise violence and drugs.
"We don't want to scare off our audience. We are poets of the street," said Abdel-Rahman who had to leave school at the age of 10 to help support his family with menial jobs.
He is completely raw talent. He never read poetry, or any book for that matter.
He was not influenced by foreign artists -- when he first started to rap he did not even speak English or French to understand what their songs were about.
"I used to practice freestyle improvisation rap while driving customers in my taxi, until it was stolen last year," he said, showing a notebook on which he writes his rap songs with an astonishingly elegant Arabic calligraphic handwriting.
"They were much amused by my beatboxing, or the vocal imitation of drums."
Today, Abdel-Rahman is working on his first solo album, which is due to appear soon.
"I am also working on a new song with Palestinian rapper Moqataa who is in Ramallah," he added.
"We have to work via the internet, as none of us can travel to each other's country. He sent me his parts of the song, and I will add my parts, using the computer."
Abdel-Rahman is performing with other local rappers - Moe, Joker and 6K - DJ Lethal Skillz.
Speaking at breathtaking velocity, rapper Moe is the only performer at al-Madina Theatre who performs in English.
Standing before a poster of a graffiti representing a tank towering over an installation representing Beirut's skyline, Moe is mostly angry at Israel for military attacks on his country.
"Can't take away my dignity...these Israelis are getting rid of me...you still call it ethical?" cries Moe, whose real name is Mohamad Ali Kobeissi.
He also never formally learnt music or played any instrument.
"My only instrument is a two-dollar microphone linked to a computer," said the rapper who boasts to be an honor-list computer science student at the American University of Beirut.
Show co-producer Zeid Hamdan said "none of the hip-hop artists in Lebanon has probably studied music or played any instrument. It is all raw talent and that is why it is beautiful and very expressive."
He asserted that the message is simple
"They have a pure, idealistic message for peace and individual self-assertion.
"They provide a genuine expression of their generation's concerns, unlike commercial Arabic pop music."
Source: IslamOnline
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