Hadag Nahash
| Hadag Nahash | |
|---|---|
The band's logo
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Genres |
Israeli hip hop Hip-hop Funk |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Hed Arzi |
| Website | hadagnahash.com |
| Members | Sha'anan Streett Guy Mar David Klemes Moshe "Atraf" Asaraf Yaya Cohen Harounoff Shlomi Alon |
Hadag Nahash (Hebrew: הדג נחש ha-Dag Nachash) is an Israeli hip hop/funk band, founded in 1996 in Jerusalem. The band is known for its leftist political statements in many of its songs. Some of the band's songs have been used in protests.
The group's name literally means "The Fish-Snake". It is also, however, a Hebrew spoonerism on the phrase Nahag Ḥadash (Hebrew: נהג חדש, "A New Driver"). In Israel, people who have only recently gotten their driver's licenses must place a tag on their back window with these words.
The band's icon, depicting a child urinating, comes from a Hebrew idiom loosely translated as I will show you from where the fish pisses (אני אראה לך מאיפה משתין הדג) meaning something akin to "I will show you how it's done."
Like many Israeli pop musicians such as Teapacks and the Idan Raichel project, Hadag Nahash blends Western pop music with Eastern elements to create a sound tapestry containing influences from funk and world music. The band notes that although its style is hip-hop-oriented, its music is placed in that section in Israel because marketing executives at the group's label did not know how to classify the band's style, despite it being closer to groups such as the Brand New Heavies rather than Wu-Tang Clan or A Tribe Called Quest.
Hadag Nahash has been a major contributor to the Israeli hip-hop scene, and is presently one of Israel's most successful bands, with six albums released to date. The band's songs call for peace, tolerance and equality, and include political and social protest. Most songs are written by Sha'anan Streett, the band's lead vocalist.
...
Wikipedia