So, Zohran Mamdani just won the New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary. And, while it may appear that I am jumping on the Mamdani-thinkpiece-alarmist-rant bandwagon, I would like to note that I was planning a piece on Jewish rappers to listen to months and months before the New York mayoral primary race was a twinkle of a Twitter post in Nate Silver’s eye.
While there is plenty to say about Mamdani’s political platform, his strange sources of funding, his less than four years of “normie” job experience, what fascinates me the most about the 33 year old nepo-baby of filmmaker Mira Nair and Colombia Professor Mahmood Mamdani, is his failed rap career.
In 2017, “Mr. Cardamom,” Zohran’s “rap name,” released a sequence of tracks related to his Muslim and South Asian heritage. Rap songs like “Nani” which I presume is about Indian Grandmas-I think?
And while the backing beat is actually quite good; think the American version of Indian-English hip-hop producer Jai Paul, who blends hip hop beats with traditional Indian Instrumentals into absolute contemporary classics like BTSTU and St8 Outta Mumbai, the lyrics enunciated in a whisper-like way by a mid-twenties Mamdani, are abysmal. Think Ying Yang Twins, a southern rap group from the early 2000s who made songs that literally made you feel like you were getting sexually molested at the roadside strip club through your radio station—but with a great Indian-musical backdrop. Truly unfortunate.
But the worst song Mamdani ever made, is a track regarding the Holy Land 5. The Holy Land 5 for those of you unfamiliar, were five men arrested in connection with a Texan nonprofit named the Holy Land Foundation. The Holy Land Foundation turned out to be a Muslim Brotherhood front group that laundered 12 million dollars for Hamas and assisted with the September 11th attacks. Mamdani raps throughout the song about how awesome they are—imploring his audience to “look them up.”
Its unfortunately very difficult to find the whole music video, but no worries—I didn’t really want to find it anyway. Just like I don’t really want to listen to the bland radicalism of Kneecap, or the lack-of-verbal-flow of Macklemore, or the arrogance epitomized in musical form of Kanye West.
Mainstream rap music has been struggling creatively for a while. And while I may be an odd looking ambassador for the genre, I’m a 5 foot nothing tiny mid-thirties Jewish woman for instance; I actually did grow up marinating in hip hop culture and music.
I went to elementary through high school with members of Griselda; the biggest hip hop group to ever emerge from the rust belt city of Buffalo New York. Mostly dropping that last point in there because a lot of times when people see me their impressions of my background and past experiences don’t “align” with how I look and sound. I know what stereotypes I give off visually, and I do not look like a person who can discuss the nuances of Rick James’s iconic record Street Sounds, let alone give you rap record recommendations.
When I lived In Seattle, explaining my childhood to strangers and associates generally got me looks of skepticism and disbelief from white guilt infected peers. I sounded like I was telling tall tales, and my creative coworkers’ disbelief was written all over their faces showcased in their blasé expressions and barely concealed eye rolls.
This discomfort with my past life experiences which didn’t align with their perceived notions of race and class, emanated from the body language and skeptical mannerisms of the Capital Hill artists and hipsters I came into contact and conversation with at Seattle bars and shows. I have realized now, years after leaving the Pacific Northwest, that my former art acquaintances used the same patronizing tone with me regarding my inner city public school upbringing that they would later use regarding antisemitism. It’s the same style of verbally conveyed cognitive dissonance that comes with denial and narrative contradiction.
I have deduced probably unfairly that most of them were projecting their discomfort with growing up in upper middle class suburban communities and rural towns in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, and Washington that lacked class and racial diversity on to me. Because they felt this shame, it had to be normalized among everyone of the same complexion and skin tone. The Pacific Northwest is after all where Robin DiAngelo gained her first real cultural foothold. But again, this is just a deduction.
Hip Hop and rap music for me is a passion. I love listening for lyrical nuggets and analyzing the production, the tempo, and the hidden messages spoken at the speed of sound. I used to have a music blog many many years ago. I do miss writing about music, even if those old posts were even more peppered with spelling mistakes, offensive language, and grammatical atrocities than my current writing abilities.
And I do have a few pieces dedicated to music and hip hop culture specifically:
Macklemore Makes a Mouthy Macro-Mistake.
As I have said quite a few times in the past, in many different ways, things are really hard for Jewish artists right now. We are getting hounded out of festivals, having our speaking engagements cancelled, and being put on lists. I never wanted to “identify” myself as a female artist, or a bisexual artist-happy pride1, or a Jewish artist, I just wanted to be an artist; like I think many of us did at one point—and still do. We just wanted to make our work, to not be tied to an identity, and to have our creative vision assessed on it’s stylistic and compositional merits.
Unfortunately to be a real artist is to be true to yourself, which requires raw honesty. And honesty is painful. It is much easier to go along with the crowd and numb yourself-at least in the short term.
So, even though I wince at the category, I think promoting Jewish art is important right now. And in addition—this is all just a convoluted way of explaining that I had this list going in my head for awhile, but was too chicken to write it all down.
Now lucky you! because you get to hear some musical recommendations you didn’t even ask for. I’m sorry, I started this Substack on my own dictatorial creative whims, and I write and draw what I want. Because if I can’t write what I want why do this at all?
What To Listen to Instead of Macklemore? Try BLP Kosher
In a rap battle between two MCs from soggy states on the literal opposite ends of the country, Washington and Florida respectively, BLP Kosher would tie Macklemore into so many lyrical twisted knots the “thrift shop” Seattle based rapper would suffocate.
There is no comparison, and I mean that earnestly. You need a thesaurus to listen to BLP Kosher. You need an overview of pop cultural history from the 1960s through the modern era taught to you by a world scholar to listen to BLP Kosher. You need access to a rabbinical school to listen to BLP Kosher. He is the Tom Lehrer of rappers, but the kid is also an inner city Florida high school drop out. I do love a good musical anomaly.
Kosher comes from the literal hood. And his wicks, a distinctive variation on dreads, created by the Haitian inner city communities of South Florida, were given to him by a friend from the same area of Boward County, a place known for its rough around the edges street culture. BLP’s wicks are unique because not only were they bestowed upon him by a fellow Floridian rapper, but they were created from the traditional orthodox Jewish hairstyle of the payots or curly side locks.
BLP Kosher has never cut his wicks, using the hairstyle as a tribute to this same friend who passed away several years ago. I was quite surprised when I read about his strange and what I initially thought was blatantly culturally appropriated hairdo; which stopped me initially from listening to his music. I am forever grateful that I moved past what he looked like on the outside and now can focus on what he sounds like—nice Sesame Street moment there.
Songs to Listen to:
Hour Glass
This is the track that convinced me that BLP wasn’t bullshitting, as I had wrote him off multiple times before based on his ridiculous appearance. When I finally listened to Hour Glass, I was in shock, because the man looks like the Jewish version of Post Malone—but he most definitely does not sound like the Jewish version of Post Malone. Praise Hashem.
Hour Glass, is one of the most elegant tracks I have ever heard. BLP can spit bars like no other rapper in his age group. And he’s definitely not a novelty act or a one hit wonder.
Honorable mentions I’ll link to my Spotify playlist below:
Mazel Tron
The Nac 3
What To Listen to Instead of Mr. Cardamom? Try Your Old Droog.
Your Old Droog is Ukrainian for “Your Old Friend.” So, we have the Ukrainian-Jewish refugee who grew up on the wrong side of Brooklyn, against the possible-future champagne socialist mayor of New York City.
Your Old Droog raps about failed urban systems, about living in the rougher apartment complexes on the other side of town, about antisemitism, and about being an immigrant. He is one of the most prolific rappers in terms of sheer musical output and quality I have ever had the privilege of observing in real time. And by prolific, I mean multiple EPs a year, and sometimes multiple albums, all produced without a record label.
Has Momandi created more than just an EP? Is that a rabbit hole I actually want to travel down is probably a more honest question, and the answer is no, not really.
Songs to Listen to:
42 (Forty Deuce)
Your Old Droog literally had to put out an entire album about being a Jew to refute the rumors that he was Nas. To understand how notable modern critics comparing an Eastern European Jewish kid from Brooklyn to one of the greatest rappers of all time is, all you need to know is that Nas is the superior rapper and musical rival of the slightly more famous but way less talented entrepreneur and husband of Beyoncé Knowles.
Your Old Droog doesn’t sugarcoat how he views New York in all of it’s grossness and grittiness. Lyrically, Droog’s honest image of his New York City experience shines through on all of his albums. It’s clear that the 5 boroughs is a place where he actually still lives, and the track Forty Deuce paints a specific picture of a fragment sized slice of life in New York City viewed through the artist’s own eyes.
Honorable mentions I’ll link to my Spotify playlist below:
Dropout Boogie
Ukraine
What To Listen to Instead of Kneecap? Try Ness and Stilla.
Kneecap is a Belfast based Irish “identity politics” band that has named themselves after a torture method utilized by the Irish Republican Army. To be “kneecapped” is to be shot in the back of the knees, which is a tactic the IRA have used on their friends and foes.
The most widely played Kneecap track: “H.O.O.D.” has prep school student visits a house party on the wrong side of town vibes. Kneecap is the kind of music listened to by kids that go to Trinity College, the Irish version of the Ivy League, as a backdrop soundtrack in between taking thirst-trap selfies with the newest Sally Rooney novel for their Book-Tok account.
While Ness and Stilla come from another nation that starts with the letter “I,” in which an indigenous population that has historically been persecuted by the British Empire has fought back, I have a feeling we will not be seeing the two groups sharing a stage anytime soon. Even though both groups have generated controversy involving the war in Gaza, both have been censured and treated in very different ways.
The musical partnership of Nessya Levy (Ness) and Dor Soroker (Stilla) was formed shortly before October 7th, 2023. I cannot find too much about their backgrounds besides being Israeli musicians, but I do know that Stilla produces his own beats, always a plus in my opinion for a hip hop act. Soroker is also the only person I have heard use the Yiddish phrase “Oy Vey” on a song and made it sound cool.
Musically, Levy and Soroker both appear to be polymaths who can rap, sing, and change vocal cadence on the knife’s edge of an instrumental transition. The music that has been made from their partnership has flavors not just inspired by the sounds of Israel, but also the flavors and soundtracks of the entire Middle East, as over half of Jewish-Isrealis are the descendants of Jews from the MENA region-or the Middle Eastern and North African Jewish diaspora.
These Jewish Israelis come from Yemen, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Tunisia, and with this diverse array of MENA representation, there is the melding of many different cultures and artistic practices. Israeli music is therefore the audible observation of this organically experimental fusion of styles and traditions. I like to visualize Israel as the Brazil of the Middle East for this reason. As Israel like Brazil is known for its mixing and melding of culture and ethnicity which produces attractive people, good food, and amazing-and seriously underrated music.
Songs to Listen to:
Harbu Darbu-חרבו דרבו
As I inferred above, Ness and Stilla have generated as much controversy if not more than their Irish friend’s, Kneecap. This song linked below came out a month after October 7th 2023, and it was a call to arms.
The duo has had their visas cancelled and shows postponed indefinitely abroad do to the song “Harbu Darbu” which calls for the elimination of the top leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Released in early November 2023, after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, with the largest killing field encompassing a music festival on a desert campground, Harbu Darbu is an angry cry, a musical flare that was pointedly provocative.
The song was labeled as dangerous by Western music critics, and pro-Palestinian activists tried to remove the track from all social media platforms. Meanwhile, Kneecap has performed at music festivals all over the world, and has had letters written on their behalf by fellow industry musicians.
*I would just like to state that I do not believe in censoring art—so I do not support de-platforming Kneecap, Macklemore, or Kanye West. I think making fun of them is superior to banning their music. If you are offended or upset by art, you do not have to consume it. And by denying others the right to listen or view a work of art, it just makes it more popular anyway—so you lose.
Moralizing aside, Ness and Stilla also just make better music. Music you can actually dance to. The group may not have broken into the western music market but that’s fine, they don’t need a US tour or American streaming sales, since they have a following in Nigeria—of all places. Turns out, Israeli electronica and hip hop has a similar production style to West-African Afro-beats.
Honorable mentions I’ll link to my Spotify playlist below:
סטילה - באמפרים (Prod. By Stilla)
נס וסטילה X אודיה - רשימת קניות (Prod. By Stilla)
What To Listen to Instead of Kanye West? Try Noga Erez.
It is no secret that I think Noga Erez is a creative genius. I already have an entire essay devoted to her last album, the 2024 record “The Vandalist,” linked as one of the essays above. I think Erez is one of the most interesting musical acts to quietly emerge from the late 2010s, and as artistically exciting as the fervor surrounding early Kanye West.
Kanye West has always thought he was a musical god, and has exuded that aura, emanating from his large ego, which has gotten more blinding the sicker he has become. And admittedly, I do not think Kanye West made music for me, and that may be why it never stuck or seeped into my skin. From his early albums like College Dropout, to singles like Heartless, and the later increasingly musical obtuse stuff, I never understood his appeal; and I think it’s because he made music for a specific demographic of people.
This group which encompassed many of my high school friends, were book smart black men and boys who didn’t feel represented by mainstream hip hop culture (for the most part). Which I think is why West’s fall from pop culture icon status felt so personal and painful to them. West’s music touched them on a level that I do not think I can fully understand based on their lived experience. A lived experience that involved feeling other-ed by your own community, but still stereotyped and targeted for abuse by those outside of your neighborhood’s borders. Kanye West was an intellectual rapper as well as an avant-garde artist that I think conveyed these life messages to my friend group, but went over my head.
For me, Noga Erez appeals to me in the way old Kanye West I believe appealed to my old public school friends. Erez speaks to an experience I have and know with all of the cells in my body. Her frustrations, her mannerisms, her musical cultural commentary are so fucking Jewish. But Jewish in that Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks, emerging cultural behemoth kind of way. Erez is clearly talented and loves experimenting with sound.
I have already added many many Erez tracks to the Window Before Death Playlist, so I’m not embedding any videos below—just read the other essay. But as I said previously, I am putting my Spotify playlist at the end of this piece, so do not fear, I have nearly an entire album of her tracks on the music list.
I am a regular on the r/Jewish reddit sub. Every other day, there is another post or comment lamenting a musician or band that has made a hurtful statement, shared a bigoted graphic, or created an entire song targeting the Jewish community. Some genres like rap music and jazz are worse than others, but regardless, there is no shortage of musical acts across the artistic spectrum that appears to be un-impacted by the social pressure to make statements regarding the war in the Middle east.
And while I have made a pact with myself to attempt to separate the art from the artist when possible (for instance I still listen to MUNA…sorry Bobby…), as I am not going to deny myself artistic enjoyment due to boneheaded statements on geopolitics, I also understand those of you who can no longer enjoy certain musicians because their remarks eclipse their art. So hopefully I introduced you to someone new that you can use a jumping off point to more musical adventures.
I’m typing while rolling my eyes. I’ve never cared in all honesty.