Palestinian-Canadian rapper Belly has released his new album 96 Miles From Bethlehem, a deeply personal nine-track project dedicated to his roots in the West Bank, and the broader Palestinian struggle. Belly was born in 1984 in Jenin, a principal Palestinian municipality, and relocated to Canada at the age of seven.
Along with the new music, Belly has announced that all proceeds from the album and its associated merchandise will be donated to Gaza, the West Bank, and other affected areas around Palestine.
Belly started his announcement post with “i got a lot more to say..” reflecting his long-standing outspokenness on the need for peace in the Middle East. Known for his critical take on the longstanding conflicts in the region, Belly’s 2008 song “History of Violence” condemned the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighting the immense civilian toll.
His track “What A World,” produced by Boi-1da, further addressed the war, and also saw him speak out against government corruption and the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush. The Footage-directed video premiered on HipHopCanada on Dec. 15, 2010.
According to the album’s description on Apple Music, “On top of writing or appearing on several star-studded rap/R&B crossover hits over the past decade, Ottawa-raised MC Belly may be the mainstream pop world’s most visible Palestinian artist. Packing nine tracks into 19 minutes, 96 Miles From Bethlehem, is an impulsive, emotional response from an artist torn between feelings of helplessness and hope. But it is also a testament to Belly’s enduring songwriter savvy: With ‘Jenin’s Song,’ he cleverly riffs on the phonetic similarities between his West Bank birthplace and the common name Janine, yielding an acoustic-R&B lullaby that functions as both a fictional love song for the girl who got away and a requiem for the city he dreams of seeing again.”
96 Miles From Bethlehem features Saint Levant, Ibrahim Maalouf, Elyanna, and MC Abdul. You can stream it now on Apple Music, Spotify, and various other digital streaming platforms via SALXCO Universal Arabic Music.
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