Strong Black Coffee

Strong Black Coffee (Hebrew: קפה שחור חזק‎, Café Shahor Hazak) is an Israeli hip hop duo, of Ethiopian origins.[1][2][3][4] The duo were a nominee for the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Israeli Act award.

Strong Black Coffee
Café Shahor Hazak
קפה שחור חזק
Strong Black Coffee with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, at the Ambassador's Residence (July 4, 2015)
Background information
OriginNetanya, Israel
GenresHip hop
Members
  • Uri Alamo
  • Ilak Sahalu

The duo

The duo consists of Uri Alamo and Ilak Sahalu.[1] The two are cousins and come from an Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) family. Ilak Sahalu was born in 1990 in Ethiopia and Uri Alamo in 1992 in Israel. Ilak Sahalu immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia with his family as a 1 year old baby. See also: Operation Solomon. Both were raised in Netanya, Israel, and served in the Israeli military, with Sahalu serving as an officer.[5][6][7][8][9] The two now live in Hadera, Israel.[5]

History

They began experimenting with hip-hop music when they were very young.[5] When they were 16 years old they wrote a song in memory of a soldier.[5] The Israeli telecommunications company Cellcom liked the song and sent them to a recording studio, where Sahalu said they met "some bearded musician who explained to us that this thing has rules. That it's a matter of quarters, a certain beat. We started writing according to that logic, and things really did improve."[5] They were introduced to Israeli musicians, did a rap cover for one singer, and shot a music video of it.[5]

Before becoming a rap star, Sahalu was a First Lieutenant, platoon commander, and combat officer in the Nahal Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces.[5][10] He served his last six months on the Home Front Command, at the Central Command headquarters in Jerusalem.[5]

They went on three performance tours in the United States over three years. Sahalu recalled: "We ... performed in Cincinnati ... and there were 800 people in the audience, most of them black. We sang in Hebrew and they screened an English translation. People were surprised. They didn’t even know there are blacks in Israel."[5] The duo then began to record at a recording studio in Hadera. [5] They have now performed in over 20 countries.[7] The two perform every weekend, and earn enough money to get by doing what discharged Israeli soldiers typically do: working as security guards, and in construction.[5]

In July 2015, American R&B singer Chris Brown chose the duo to open a concert of his in Rishon LeZion, Israel.[6] That same month, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, invited the duo to perform on the Fourth of July at the official residence of the Ambassador.[11][12] The duo were a nominee for the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Israeli Act award.[13]

Music and lyrics

The duo's music has been described as "very melodic and fairly soft rap, with clear signs of pop, but ... still a hip-hop band in every way."[14] Their sources of inspiration are Americans Tupac Shakur, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, and LL Cool J, and other Ethiopian-Israeli artists such as the Axum rap ensemble and singer Esther Rada.[5] Though they grew up in a difficult neighborhood, the two say that their music does not speak to the difficulties of growing up in a tough, neglected neighborhood.[5][7] Elman said: "There always was and always will be racism. The question is whether to sit and cry about it all day long." Sahalu noted: "The first thing that happens when people see Ethiopians singing is that they expect us to say that things are hard for us. But life is beautiful sometimes."[5]

One of the duo's hit songs is "Ihiye Beseder" ("It'll Be Alright"; with a cheerful melody and appealing chorus; lyrics: "I know everything will be okay / Never mind what others say privately / We’ll manage with the help of God"; over 3 million YouTube views by October 2015).[1][10][14][15][16] A more recent release of theirs is "Hineh, Zeh Koreh" ("Look, It’s Happening").[1][10][14][16][17] "Rak La'alot" ("Only to Ascend") received 634,000 YouTube views within a few weeks.[5][7] "Sofshavua" ("Weekend") had 389,000 YouTube views in six months.[5] "The Way You Move" with Israeli rapper Soulja had 545,000 YouTube views in just over three months.[5]

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References
  1. Marissa Stern (November 22, 2016). "But First, (Strong Black) Coffee". The Jewish Exponent.
  2. Andrew Warner (November 8, 2016). "Bruins for Israel and Hillel partner with Jerusalem U for Israeli event". Daily Bruin.
  3. Lea Speyer (November 8, 2016). "New Campus Initiative Aims to Counteract Anti-Israel Movement's 'Trite, One-Sided' Rhetoric by Showing Jewish State's 'Human Face'". Algemeiner Journal.
  4. הראל, עמוס (January 22, 2014). "קפה שחור חזק הראפרים שלא מתביישים להיות מאושרים". Haaretz.
  5. Amos Harel. "Hot, black Israeli rap duo bubbles over on YouTube; Ethiopian-born Kafe Shahor Hazak rappers grew up in a tough neighborhood, but say their music does not reflect urban distress". Haaretz.
  6. Cynthia Blank (July 22, 2015). "Israeli Hip-Hop Duo to Open for Chris Brown; The successful American R&B artist personally chose Café Shahor Hazak to open his concert in Rishon Lezion next week". Israel National News.
  7. אורי זר אביב (June 10, 2015), הצמד קפה שחור חזק כובש את לב ההיפ הופ הישראלי. ראיון, Time Out Tel Aviv
  8. Gwilym Mumford (December 12, 2014)."Israeli hip-hop, a political tool for a divided country,", The Guardian
  9. Gérard Bar David (October 6, 2016). "En Israël, Black is beautiful," L'Arche
  10. Amos Harel (May 13, 2016). "No fighting in the War Room: Israeli politicians, generals call for unity". Haaretz.
  11. Jacob Kornbluh (July 1, 2015), "Amb. Shapiro’s 4th of July Celebration Stars ‘Strong Black Coffee’ Performance"
  12. Hillel Schenker (July 4, 2015), "Notes from July 4th at the American Ambassador's Residence in Tel Aviv", The Times of Israel.
  13. Patrick Hosken (October 25, 2015). "2015 MTV EMA: Full Winners List", MTV
  14. Ben Shalev (September 19, 2016). "Ethiopian-Israeli Musicians Making Their Mark in Israel". Nazret.
  15. Laura Kelly (October 11, 2015). "Concert Review: Matisyahu," The Jerusalem Post
  16. Ben Shalev (September 17, 2015). "Israeli hip-hop artists trade protest music for optimism; Local rappers look on the bright side of life. Could it be that they're getting guidance from above?". Haaretz.
  17. Laura Kelly (October 11, 2015). "Concert Review: Matisyahu,", The Jerusalem Post
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