Welcome to The Safe House Travel Diary, a global exploration of hip hop through intimate conversations with local artists in their safe houses. Every season I immerse myself in a new place. This is season one: Three Nights in Beirut.

WATCH

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you can also WATCH it with the full visualizer on my YouTube Channel. I highly recommend watching this one so you can see footage borrowed (with permission) from two definitive documentaries about the Lebanese hip hop scene.

SOUNDTRACK

E3 playlist. Check out the song that framed this episode, Ktir Style by Jamul, as well as a round up of every Lebanese rapper I could find on Spotify from 1990-now. Its 3+ hours of music spanning 3 decades!

THANK YOU

1. El Arena for footage of the first Arabic rap battle to ever be broadcasted from the Middle East
2. DJ Lethal Skillz for his support and permission to use footage from his documentary
3. MC Royal S aka Salim Saab for his guidance and permission to use footage from his documentary
4. Assasi for footage from Hip Hop Essentials 101 at Radio Beirut
5. 2Famous.TV for footage from Hip Hop Essentials 101
6. Aladin for a conversation that still echoes in my mind
7. Ziggy for permission to use his reel
8. Jamul for being Jamul

LEARN MORE

Lebanese hip hop

1. Documentary: 961 Underground: The Rise of Lebanese Hip Hop (2012)by DJ Lethal Skillz: The definitive documentary about the rise of Lebanese hip hop culture by the spin master himself, DJ Lethal Skillz.
2. Documentary | El Arena: the award winning documentary by Soul House Media is a must watch
3. El Arena YouTube channel: watch rappers from across the MENA region converge on Beirut and go head to head. Pro-tip: if you know Arabic, watch Kalach vs. Al Darwish for some heavy duty social commentary about the tension between Syrian refugees and Lebanese citizens.

Protest movement and civil strife

1. Video: One week of protests in Lebanon
2. Article: Lebanon protests explained
3. Article: Lebanon's ordeal: from civil strife to economic collapse

Lebanese Economic Crisis

1. Video: Inside an Armed Bank Raid in Lebanon
2. Article: Lebanon's financial crisis and how it happened
3. Article: Collapse: Inside Lebanon’s Worst Economic Meltdown in More Than a Century
4. Article: Lebanon’s currency value plunges to 100,000 against US dollar

Beirut Port Explosion

1. Report: They Killed Us from the Inside: An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast

Lebanese Civil War:

1. Mudawant Podcast (Arabic)
2. The War on Lebanon Documentary Miniseries

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