Jerusalem Dialect

Three hip-hop performances by Jerusalem-based acts.

Sektor

Sektor is an electro-pop-punk duo formed in Jerusalem in 2018. Their roots lie in Russian punk rock, which addresses issues in the lower social strata, excessive optimism, the disintegration of values, protest, and hopelessness. Sektor’s songs draw a line between the Soviet gopnik and the Middle Eastern ars, emphasizing the proximity and similarities between populations suffering from years of inadequate education. In today’s fractured Israeli society, Sektor takes a bold step towards uniting the masses. Sektor is Alexei Guriev and Evgeni Leshchenko.

Nivim / Mesilat Yesharim

A Hebrew-language hip-hop trio formed more than a decade ago, drawing inspiration from folk music, Jamaican dub, and industrial noise. Their rap is poetic, personal, and political, drawing on Hebrew poetry and the deep fringes of American rap, resisting injustice while acknowledging chaos and the depth of the abyss. The group will perform songs from “Nivim,” their new album, which faces the war within and without with a head held high. Mesilat Yesharim are Alex Cohn (rap), Ofer Tisser (rap and beats), and Adir Darmon (rap and beats).

Bund! Live / PlasticSam hosts Regev Baruch

PlasticSam (Sam Braverman) is an alternative hip-hop project focused on social justice, resistance, memory, and solidarity. His music responds to historical and political realities, confronts systems of oppression and makes room for marginalized voices. In his new show “Bund! Live,” Sam returns to the story of his great-grandfather, a member of the Bund, the anti-nationalist Jewish movement, and finds there the roots of a contemporary struggle. Following that story, Sam delves into uncomfortable territory and emotions that are difficult to contain, in an era when freedom is being pushed aside.