For the most part, it’s not too difficult to figure out the constellation of Israeli hip-hop. Some, like Nechi Nech or Hadag Nachash, are the scene’s philosopher kings, emotive and insightful and inspiring. Others, like Lukach, are the jesters, and a few, like Subliminal, are the bad boys. Peled, however, continues to confound.
Growing up on a small moshav, he let his hair grow into long dreadlocks and let his slightly anti-social attitude go unchecked. He was a member of just about any memorable hip-hop supergroup in the last 15 years, but never seemed to quite make it on his own. Some said his look was too strange. Others took issue with his penchant for deliberately bad grammar. But talent is talent, and talent always win. This week, Peled emerged triumphant with “Ma Ani Nir’ah Lecha,” or “What Do I Look Like to You,” a trippy anthem of defiance. It’s the sort of hypnotic track we could all use this month to simply simmer down:
Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.