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Beyond the Lyrics: Hip-Hop Practices and Palestinian Identity

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Beyond the Lyrics: Hip-Hop Practices and Palestinian Identity Beyond the Lyrics: Hip-Hop Practices and Palestinian Identity Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Karaman, Alexander Kamal Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 17:32:27 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/642061 BEYOND THE LYRICS: HIP-HOP PRACTICES AND PALESTINIAN IDENTITY FORMATION by Alexander Karaman ________________________________ Copyright Ó Alexander Karaman 2020 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GENDER AND WOMEN’S STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2020 2 Acknowledgements This dissertation is the product of eight years in graduate school and fieldwork spread over five years in Israel-Palestine. Such a project would be impossible without the help of so many colleagues, friends, and family members who invested their time in mentoring and supporting me. First, my dissertation committee members are a fantastic team of scholars who have demonstrated what true mentorship mean in a world where individualism and competition too often guide our work. Miranda Joseph was instrumental in recruiting me to the University of Arizona and, as the Director of Graduate Studies, being an early advocate for me and so many other graduate students. Her feedback and willingness to hold me accountable while encouraging me forward helped me to see the importance and strength of my work. Maha Nassar always reminded me that my work was important to Palestinians and Palestine Studies. In an era where Palestine becomes fodder for academics and journalists who are not concerned with issues near and dear to Palestinians, her encouragement was the most important. I cannot imagine what this work would have looked like without another Palestinian to converse with about my writing. Vincent Del Casino helped shape my understanding of geographic inquiry in many ways and across many classes. His strong understanding of methodology in class and as an advisor helped me develop and proceed through my own research with more confidence and direction while keeping me open to whatever might emerge in the field. Stefano Bloch was the most recent addition to the team and graciously filled in when I needed someone to help me with feedback while completing my writing. Stefano’s own work in urban and cultural geography and graffiti meshed perfectly with my project and our discussions proved refreshing and valuable as I finished. My community at the University of Arizona was wonderfully supportive throughout my tenure. I was blessed to be in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and to be surrounded by a group of activists who advocated for each other and provided support to each other when the instituton did not. I saw faculty donate personal money to help graduate students pay medical bills. I saw out graduate students lead some of the largest demonstrations on campus for graduate student workers, undocumented students, and, even as I write this, for laid off staff and students in the midst of COVID. From the members of my cohort, Scottie, Rocket, Abe, and Kelly, to my writing partners, especially Mija, I found the most amazing and brilliant group of students. I am further lucky for a great crew of friends outside the university, who I cannot thank enough for never asking me how writing was going. Our crew is tight and caring, and I could not have done it without Tim, Jimmy, Traci, Steph, Buffalo, Antonio, Jonathan, and Aretha. Lastly, my amazing partner and co-conspirator, Megan, has been my ultimate support and encouragement throughout the last six years. She believed in me every step of the way, even when I doubted myself the most. She celebrated every accomplishment along the way, even if it was a chapter revision or just a day getting in a lot of writing. There is no one else I would have wanted to run this race with and I share this accomplishment with her. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our dogs Milli and Whiskey and our cat Stella. 3 Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………...…………………………………………………….(5) 1. Introduction: Going Beyond the Lyrics: Hip-Hop Practices and Palestinian Identity Formation….……….(6) I. Themes for this Dissertation: Identity Formation and Space ………………………………………………(9) II. Notes on Terminology ………………………………………………………………………………………….(24) Geographic ………………………………………………………………………………………...…(24) Sexual …………………………………………………………………………………………...…….(28) Cultural ……………………….……………………….……………………………...….…………...(33) III. Notes on Methodology ……………………….……………………….………………………………………..(35) IV. Chapter Outline ……………………… ……………………… ……………………………………...………..(41) 2. Chapter One: Going Out, Not Coming Out: Queer Affects and (Secluded) Public Space in Haifa….…....(45) I. Glitter and Gunfire: Thoughts and Feelings on Palestinian Hip-Hop …………………………………..(45) II. Queer Theory, Decoloniality, and the Mixed City of Haifa ……………………………………………….(52) III. A Queer/Palestinian Geography of Public Space ………………………………………………………….(65) Mobility and Visibility Dynamics ……………………………………………………………...…..(67) Passing As: The Ocular Logic of Western Sexualities ………………………………………….(73) Passing Through: Mobility and Visibility in Public Spaces in Haifa …………………………(80) IV. Going Out, Coming Out………………………………………………………………………………………. (83) V. Secluded Publics …………………………………………………………………………………….………….(88) VI. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………….………...(97) 3. Chapter Two: Hip-Hop Ramallah: Space-making Enterprises, Glocalization, and Feminism ….……….(101) I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………(101) II. Space-Making Enterprises and Music Glocalization …………………………………………………….(107) The Need for (Hip-Hop) Space …………………………………………………………………...(107) The Political Landscape of Hip-Hop Spaces …………………………………………….……..(109) Space-Making and Glocalization: Enter the Void and the Boiler Room Show …………….(115) Rethinking Glocalization Across the Diaspora: The Berlin-Ramallah Connection. ……...(129) III. Gender, Feminism, and Hip-Hop Space-Making …………………………………………………………(133) Gender, Public Space, and Privacy in Palestine ……………………………………….………(135) Sexism in Hip-Hop in Ramallah ………………………………………………………………….(139) Feminist Space-making ……………………………………………………………………………(144) Rethinking Glocalization Beyond Nationalism: Feminist Space-Making Broadcast Globally……………………………………………………………………………………………... (154) IV. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..(156) 4. Chapter Three: The Forced Trade-Offs of Mixed Cities: Palestinian Masculinities and the Pursuit of Coexistence in Jerusalem ………………………………………………………………………………...............(162) I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………(162) II. The Geopolitics of Mixed Cities …………………………………………………………………………….(168) Mixed Cities as Opportunities ……………………………………………………………………(169) Individual Opportunities: Identity and Everyday Choice …..……………………….(169) The Collective Opportunity of Coexistence …………………..…………………….....(173) Mixing/Mixed: Curtailed Opportunities and Perceptions of Coexistence ……………….....(176) Palestinian Masculinities and Hip-Hop in Jerusalem …………………………………………(178) Mixed Cities: A Hip-Hop Concern ……………………………………………………………….(186) III. Palestinian Artists Supporting Coexistence ……………………………………………………..….….....(194) The Hip-Hop Histories of Muzi Raps and Saz …………………………………………….……(195) The (a)Politics of Marketing in Coexistence ……………………………………………………(205) Mixed Events Centering Palestinians: Corner Prophets and Ha-Mazkeka ………………..(220) IV. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..(233) 5. Conclusion: From Practices to Arrangements: Affectivity and Identity in Palestinian Hip-Hop Spaces …………………………………………………………………………………………………....................(243) I. Shared Space: Public Space Versus Secluded Publics………………………………………………….. (245) II. Bodies in Motion: Affective Relationality ……………………………………………………………….....(250) III. Cruel Optimisms versus Intersectional Decoloniality ……………………………………………...........(255) IV. Transnational Hip-Hop Arrangements Beyond Shared Places ………………………………………....(260) 6. References...……………………………………………………………………………………………..................(265) 4 ABSTRACT Based on fieldwork spread over five years, this project explores the significance of hip-hop practices to Palestinian identity formation. In each of three cities, Haifa, Ramallah, and Jerusalem, I highlight how space-making practices employed by hip-hop fans and artists ultimately support intersectional, differential, feminist, queer, and affective modes of identity formation and belonging. In Haifa, queer Palestinians regularly go out to hip-hop shows in "secluded publics," built environments that accommodate queer eroticism while supporting modes of visibility and mobility discouraged and policed in Israeli public spaces. In Ramallah, processes of music glocalization, structured by transnational hip-hop circuits and the prominence of foreign NGOs in the West Bank, reflect in the selective co-optation of global hip-hop culture by feminist space-makers who assert local concerns over safe space and sexual harassment while elaborating globally an aspirational feminist politics of public space. In Jerusalem, male hip-hop artists seek success in the more financially lucrative Israeli music scene, but doing so requires them
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