Hadag Nahash ( , ) is an Israeli hip hop and funk band, founded in 1996 in Jerusalem, which makes political statements in many of its protest songs.
History
Hadag Nahash has been a major contributor to the Israeli hip-hop scene, and is presently one of Israel's most successful bands, with eight studio albums released to date. The band's songs call for peace, tolerance and equality, and include political and social protest. Most songs are written by Sha'anan Streett, the band's lead vocalist. "We demand the freedom to write whatever we want at any given time, and that can be about, for example, marijuana or just having a good time, as well as social injustice. It’s not one or the other. Our lives contain both. And when we want to keep it real, we have to speak about both."
Yossi Fine also produced the band's third studio album, "Homer Mekomi" (, "Local Material"), which was released in 2004. The biggest hit out of the album was "Shirat Hasticker" (, "The Sticker Song"), which was written by Israeli novelist David Grossman.Curriculum based on "The Sticker Song"
In 2006, Hadag Nahash released their fourth studio album, "Be'ezrat Hajam" (, With Help of the Jam, a wordplay on the expression "With God's Help"), which was named Album of the Year at the Israel Music Awards. The album, recorded at In the Pocket studios in California, was the first album in which the vocals were divided equally between Sha'anan Streett and DJ Guy Mar. "Be'ezrat Hajam" contained the hit "Hine Ani Ba" (, "Here I Come") written by Guy Mar about moving from his hometown Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. "Hine Ani Ba" is also an example of a song with a political or cultural message, as it depicts a cultural struggle between Jerusalem, a symbol of Israel's heritage, and Tel Aviv, a hub for young people and nightlife.Snakes, fishes, rhymes and Hollywood interest for Jerusalem nightlife
In December 2009, Hadag Nahash released the first single from its sixth album (fifth studio album), 6: a protest song against the rising internal violence in Israeli society, called "Od Ach Ehad" (, "One More Brother").
Their second-most recent song, , was released as a single on 3 August 2020 and was produced by Johnny Goldstein. The lyrics reference ongoing protests against the thirty-fifth government of Israel, calling to "break the cycle of Miri, Bibi, Miki, Bibi, Benny, Bibi" and asking for the release of Avera Mengistu.
Band members
Current members
Sha'anan Streett (שאנן סטריט) - Rapping, Vocals (1996–present) Yair "Yaya" Cohen-Aharonov (יאיר "יאיא" כהן־אהרונוב) - Bass guitar, Backing vocals (1996–present) David "Dudush" Klemes (דוד "דודוש" קלמס) - Keyboard (1996–present) Moshe "Atraf" Asaraf (משה "אטרף" אסרף) - Drums (1996–present) Guy "DJ Guy Mar" Margalit (מרגלית "DJ גיא "גיא מר) - Rapping, Vocals, Turntables, Sampling (1998–present) Shlomi Alon (שלומי אלון) - Saxophone, Flute, EWI, Rapping, Vocals (2001–present)
Former members Shahar Mintz ((שחר מינץ- Guitar (1996-1998) Yaron Mohar (ירון מוהר)- Saxophone (1996-2001) Meir Shalivo (מאיר שליבו)- Trumpet (1996-2000) Amir Ben Ami (אמיר בן־עמי)- Guitar (1998-2007) Rafi Malkiel (רפי מלכיאל)- Trombone (2000-2003)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Hamechona Shell HaGroove (Hebrew: המכונה של הגרוב, lit. "The Groove Machine") - 2000 Lazuz (Hebrew: לזוז, lit. "Move") - 2003 Khomer Mekomi (Hebrew: חומר מקומי, lit. "Local Material") - 2004 Bezrat Ha'jam (Hebrew: בעזרת הג'אם, lit. "With the Jam's Help") - 2006 6 - 2010 Zman Lehitorer (Hebrew: זמן להתעורר, lit. "Time to Wake Up") - 2013 Shutafim Ba'am (Hebrew: שותפים בעם, lit. "Partners in the People/Nation") - 2016 Welcome to Izrael (Hebrew: וולקאם טו איזראל) - 2018 Dag Life (Hebrew: דג לייף, lit. "Fish Life") - 2023 Yabia Omer (Hebrew: יביע אומר, lit. "He Will Utter") - 2025
Live albums
Live (Hebrew: לייב) - 2008
References
External links
Official site