Cool Stuff Blog III: Hagage Masaed, Carnatic Music, and System of a Down

Hagage Masaed is a rapper an American Yemeni rapper who is the face of Yemeni rap. His songs include topics such as the traditions and values of Yemen, as well as superstitions. Besides hip hop, he is also influenced by American funk and reggae. He is a huge promoter of the idea that rap music is a means of change and not just something for people who do not initially like the genre to necessarily overlook. He raps in both English and Arabic and the main feature of his rapping involves political issues, such as combating terrorism. He released his first album in 1999, yet he has been singing since the 1970s. I am going to display a video that is on his youtube channel in which he discusses the effects of war in Yemen. While he wasn't born there, he made several trips before moving to Yemen to take care of his father.

Carnatic music is the classical music of Southern India that began in the late 1400s/ early 1500s with Purandardas, who is considered the father of Carnatic music. While he was considered the father of this music, the most famous theorist of this music was Venkat Mukhi Swami, who also is credited with developing the Melankara system. This system classified South Indian ragas, which is their seven-note scale and is the basis of improvisation. Carnatic music is very much theory-based, in which there is a complex system of Ragam and Thalem, which is known as their rhythmic foundation. There are 72 melas or modes that the Ragams are classified under. That is really different than how in Western music, we only have 7 modes. Below is a video of Jayanthi Kumaresh, Raga Shanmukhapriya, and Saraswati Veena displaying Carnatic music, but a more modernized version.

System of a Down is an Armenian American nu-metal band from California. Like Hagage Masaed, System of a Down mixes two different musical cultures to create their own unique sound. They are heavily influenced to make music by politics of not only the United States but also of the tragedies that have been happening in the Middle East for years. Through their music, they demand your attention be drawn to the injustices around the world including genocide, war, and corrupt prison systems. The height of their popularity was in the early 2000s with their release of the songs, "Chop Suey" and "Toxicity", and a few years later with "B.Y.O.B". Many songs that they have made include harsh descriptive language that reflects the issues that they find important. In many cases, this will come with tons of metaphors, but then other times they will be blatantly obvious about what they are trying to get across. This song below is called "Deer Dance" and it is their social commentary on how governments react to political protest.