DAM (rap group)

DAM
DAM in Washington, DC, in 2008
Background information
Origin	Lod, Israel
Genres	Arabic Hip Hop, Pop, R&B
Years active	1999–present
Website	http://www.damrap.com/
Members	Tamer Nafar Suhell Nafar Mahmoud Jreri

DAM (Arabic: دام‎‎; Hebrew: דם‎‎) is a Palestinian hip-hop group. Based in Lod, Israel, DAM was founded in 1999 by brothers Tamer and Suhell Nafar and their friend Mahmoud Jreri, who are Arab citizens of Israel. Their songs are largely about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and poverty. The group's name is the Arabic verb for "to last forever/eternity" () and the Hebrew word for "blood" (), but can also be an acronym for "Da Arabian MCs." The Arabic word for "blood" () is spelled similarly, but without an alif.

DAM raps primarily in Arabic, but also in English and Hebrew. DAM has released more than 100 singles and two albums—Dedication and Dabke on the Moon—as well as an EP—Street Poetry. DAM's lyrics are largely protest-driven, and their songs centering around fighting oppression, Israeli occupation, racism, poverty, drugs, and women's rights.

Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar and Mahmoud Jreri were born and raised in Lod, Israel. Tamer and Suhell were born to Fayez Nafar and Nadia Awadi. Fayez had been disabled for most of Tamer and Suhell’s lives due to a car accident. Mahmood Jreri was born to Ibrahim Jreri and Shadia Hassuneh. Tamer, Suhell and Mahmoud all grew up in poverty, neighborhoods they call "ghettos" in their music, that were full of drive by’s and drug dealing. In 1996, when he was 17 years old, Tamer discovered Hip Hop through Tupac Amaru Shakur's songs, and started to learn English while memorizing Tupac's lyrics and translating them into Arabic using an English-Arabic dictionary. Tamer recorded his first single "Untouchable," a reference to "The Untouchables” movie. In 1998, Tamer released his first EP "Stop Selling Drugs," featuring his younger brother, Suhell. The two met Mahmoud at a private show that they organized and together they decided to form DAM in late 1999.