Pimping Ain't Easy

Sagol 59 is the truth.

He's an Israeli, born and raised in Jerusalem. And he's a hip-hop artist. But really, I'm not impressed because of his music. (Which I can't understand since he rhymes in Hebrew. Though I do love the production and the samples from traditional Israeli music). I appreciate that he is an honest, straight-shooter and talks freely about the state of politics in Israel in a way that some of the people I've met have not.

In sharp contrast to Idan, the new-agey, dreadlocked rapper I met early this week, Sagol 59 is a rapper after my own heart. Wendy Williams, my favorite NYC radio jock, would call him a "dirty backpacker." And indeed, he comes to dinner at the Galina Beach Club in Tel Aviv, rocking an okayplayer.com tee-shirt, a stubbly beard and shelltoed Adidas. He smiles and lifts up one foot to show off his fat laces, "I am an old school cat," he says. In his deep baritone and slow, heavily-accented English, it sounds hilarious. And his face is so somber when he says it that it makes me want to giggle.

Sagol 59 got his name from his time on a kibbutz. (Young Jewish people often spend time in a commune-like environment, learning together and working together). Every student in his kibbutz was assigned a color and a number to identify all of their personal belongings. His color was purple, ("sagol" in Hebrew), and his number was 59. He brought an old t-shirt with him to show us the "sagol 59" tag sewn into the back of the shirt. Cute.

He got hooked on hip-hop after hearing Ice Cube's "Death Certificate." But he admits he also liked Will Smith in the Fresh Prince days.

He started rhyming in the mid-90s and put out his own CD in 2000.

Shoot. If you want to know about the music, go to his myspace page. www.myspace.com/sagol59

I want to tell you the things I learned from him.

He is what we could a liberal. What does that mean in Israel? He thinks that Israelis need to have a dialogue with Palestinians about the conflicts. "I was one of the first rap artists to record with an Arab rapper," he says, while my tour guide, (a government representative), looks increasingly uncomfortable. "I believe that we must talk to the Arab people in order to make progress."

He admits that his is not a very popular view. He also thinks that Israeli people should learn Arabic. He speaks a little. As it is now, Israeli students learn Hebrew and English. But most Palestinians speak Arabic and well as Hebrew. Sagol said that Yasser Arafat spoke perfect Hebrew but pretended that he couldn't speak or understand it. He said it's a matter of pride for Arabs to pretend they can't speak Hebrew. But out of necessity, most of them do know the language.

He also said that the conflict is not about religion which I have always assumed it was. He said it's about land, not religion--and that it's better that way. He said that this conflict is not a holy war like The Crusades. It's not a matter of religious people fighting over which religion is better. He said both sides agree that they should be free to practice whatever religion they want. But it's the land that everyone is fighting over.

"As long as it's a war about land, we're okay," he says. "If it's a war about religion, we're all screwed."

I still don't see how it's not a war about religion. The United Nations allowed Jewish people to settle in Israel in 1948. The Palestinians, who were not a part of the UN, felt they had no reason to acknowledge this act. They've been warring ever since. I think I understand that it's not a holy war. But religion is definitely all up in this.

Would you believe that the Israeli hip-hop community had a Tel-Aviv versus Jerusalem "war" that was very similar to the east coast vs. west coast drama from the mid to late 90s?

Sagol is from Jerusalem. He dismisses Tel-Aviv as "a bubble" because the people there are more into partying and they have a beach culture and more nightlife. Jerusalem is more religious, more laid back and they are more hip-hop purists. Sound familiar?

I noticed the same thing in Brazil. There, it's Rio vs. Sao Paulo. No matter where you go, there you are.

My boy Paul Chinnery asked me to find out if the hip-hop artists here are up on the politically-conscious rappers in the States. Sagol 59 and his crews are huge dead prez fans. And De La Soul was here in Tel Aviv last week for a show. And he tells us, (while rolling his eyes just a tiny bit), that The Black Eyed Peas will be in Tel Aviv next week.

Now, Sagol is what is known as a secular Jew. He looks like your average underground rap artist from BKNY. But there are religious jews who rap. I kind of thought any kind of secular music would be against the rules for an observant or orthodox Jew. Not so says Sagol...

"There are so many different types of Jewish people here, you'll see all kinds jump on stage and grab the mic."

Sagol also told me that while a lot of hip-hop artists in Israel mimic what comes from the US, some hip-hop themes don't translate. Like, the gangster culture.

"I hear rappers talking about killing cops, carrying guns, violence..." He shrugs his shoulders. "I served in the military for three years. Everyone here serves. Guns are not something to rap about. I see people with guns every minute of every day. That doesn't make you special."

He's right about that. Yesterday, I was sitting in a cafe, (and freaking out every time someone walked in, thinking they were going to bomb the place), and there were some teenaged girls sittting at the counter. They were typical: giggly girls rocking low-rise jeans and cropped tops. I only saw them from the back. When they got up to leave, these chicks picked up these massive weapons and slung them over their shoulders and went about their business. I'm getting used to seeing everyone with guns. Matter of fact, I kinda wish I had one around here.

Anyway, so Sagol says that in addition to the whole Scarface thing being a non-issue here, you can't put on a persona to get a reputation as a rap artist. You know how Jay-Z said that Nas just watched others sell drugs from his bedroom window and that was like, the ultimate insult? And like how 50 and Ja went back and forth about who really was holding it down in Queens?

Well all of that is a moot point in Israel.

"This country is too small for that," says Sagol. "Everybody knows everybody. We all went to school together, we all went to the army together. It's hard to pose as something you're not when everybody knows who you are."

Sagol cracked me up when he explained how the Israeli community had to re-invent the whole Hebrew language in order to rap effectively.

"See, you can't just translate everything literally, " he says. "Cause then your curse words just come out sounding stupid. Or they don't rhyme with anything. So we've had to be pretty inventive."

I had to know. What's the hardest stuff to translate? And I could swear Sagol blushed.

"Well, hip-hop is about sex, bragging, you know. But this is a holy land! We're talking the language of the bible. Some of that stuff is hard to translate. Not just the words but you know, the themes..."

Like what?

"Like.... pimpin..."

Comments

[Hanif]

What does he think of Idan? Also since we are talking about a place that's as political Israel, being a "conscious" rapper would be the norm and the real rebels would be the black eyed peas sort of "pop" artist, right? I mean like he said it's nothing to be in the military and be politically influenced, but you saying something in Iz-rock if you talking about "Phat Asses" and 24's you going against the grain. Also, in a place that's as militarily and government run, I mean having a government radio station and all, do they feel that hip hop could influence the whole culture of society like here in the states?

[Aliya]

Hanif:
I didn't get a chance to ask Sagol his thoughts on Idan. But Idan is huge here. So I kinda gathered that he gives him props for making it big in hip-hop. But he's not really checking for his sound like that. Idan's more like World Music. Sagol is straight-up hip-hop. And yes, he does believe that hip-hop can affect the culture of society. That's why he wants to continue to record with Arab artists.
And about going against the grain... good question you ask. Sagol definitely talks about "phat asses" and such. And anything that has a curse word here is considered rebel music. But his real rebelliousness is his politics. He advocated talking openly with Arabs. Which is just unheard of. It's very rare.