Hip-hop Answer

08/13/2023

A. The Alchemist, born Alan Daniel Maman, released an album in 2015 titled Israeli Salad made up of  instrumental compositions which sampled Israeli songs. One track on that album is called Bone Thugs N’ Haifa.

and

B. The multi-lingual hip-hop group Hip Hop Hoodíos released a CD titled Carne Masada: Quite Possibly the Very Best of Hip Hop Hoodios which contained the songs Que Pasa in Israel, Asi Loncheamos! (Two Matzoh Balls), and Shalom Obama among others.

and

C. Los Serenos Sefarad (the “Sefardi Watchmen”) is a Jewish hip-hop group from Seattle which was formed by Rabbi Simon Benzaquen and Mexican-born rapper/guitarist Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez. Rabbi Benzaquen had no particular knowledge of hip-hop until he performed the conversion to Judaism of rapper Nissim Black (formerly Damian Jamohl Black).

and

D. Rapper Benjamin Landy Pavlon, who performs as BLP Kosher, has recorded songs and videos including Jew on the Canoe and Special K (which includes the lyrics And I'm forever smoking Nazis/I’ma pass the blunt to Anne Frank).

and

E. El-P, born in Brooklyn as Jaime Meline, was not raised in his mother’s Catholic faith or his father’s Jewish faith, though he noted of his Jewish ancestry that he “got none of it except a circumcision at birth.” He is an investor in the Jewish-style deli Frankel’s in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Click here to return to this week’s Question.

Click here to return to the Home Page.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡