Hadag Nahash - History

History

Hadag Nahash has been major a contributor to the Israeli hip-hop scene, and is presently one of Israel's most successful bands, with six albums released to date. The band's songs call for peace, tolerance and equality, and include political and social protest. Most songs are written by Sha'anan Streett, the band's lead vocalist.

In 2000, Hadag Nahash released its first studio album "Hamehona Shel Hagroove" (Hebrew: המכונה של הגרוב‎, "The Groove Machine"), which was written by and composed by the entire band. The album included well-known songs such as "Lo Mevater" and "Af Ehad," which both featured Israeli singer Mazi Cohen.

Hadag Nahash's second studio album, "Lazuz" (Hebrew: לזוז‎, "To Move"), was released in 2003 and produced by Yossi Fine. The album was an immediate success and sold over 30,000 copies, with hits such as "Gabi ve Debi," "Misparim," and "Lo Frayerim." The album featured famous Israeli musicians such as Berry Sakharof.

"Gabi ve Debi" was notable for its political message. Hadag Nahash sings about meeting Gabby and Debby, characters from a children's show that was part of the Let's Learn English series, who, in the show, had a magic stick that could transport them to any time and place. They offer to take the narrator wherever he wants – as long as it has a positive Zionistic message for the children. The three visit first Herzl and then Trumpeldor, two famous promoters of Zionism, and find each to be a far cry from their idealized images. Most notably they see Herzl on drugs and offering them the same, using a paraphrase of the motto of Zionism: "If you will it, it is not a legend." This audacious and controversial song is typical of Hadag Nahash.

Yossi Fine also produced the band's third studio album, "Homer Mekomi" (Hebrew: חומר מקומי‎, "Local Material"), which was released in 2004. The biggest hit out of the album was "Shirat Hasticker" (Hebrew: שירת הסטיקר‎, "The Sticker Song"), which was written by Israeli novelist David Grossman. The lines of the song are all slogans seen on Israeli bumper stickers. The opposing political slogans are juxtaposed to create an angry and ironic portrait of political and religious life in Israel. Other notable songs from the album are "Halifot," "Hakafa Metzaltzelet," and "Rak Po." The album attained platinum status and the band was named Band of the Year by Galgalatz and Reshet Gimel, Israel's leading popular radio stations.

In 2006, Hadag Nahash released "Be'ezrat Hajam" (Hebrew: בעזרת הג'אם‎, With Help of the Jam, a wordplay on the expression "With God's Help"), which was named Album of the Year at the Israel Music Awards. The album, recorded at In the Pocket studios in California, was the first album in which the vocals were divided equally between Sha'anan Streett and DJ Guy Mar. "Be'ezrat Hajam" contained the hit "Hine Ani Ba" (Hebrew: הנה אני בא‎, "Here I Come") written by Guy Mar about moving from his hometown Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. "Hine Ani Ba" is also an example of a song with a political or cultural message, as it depicts a cultural struggle between Jerusalem, a symbol of Israel's heritage, and Tel Aviv, a hub for young people and nightlife. One marker of its success is that this song is also featured in the Adam Sandler movie You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

In March 2008 Hadag Nahash released its first live album, "Hadag Nahash Live", released both as a CD and a DVD.

In December 2009, Hadag Nahash released the first single from its sixth album, 6: a protest song against the rising internal violence in Israeli society, called "Od Ach Ehad" (Hebrew: עוד אח אחד‎, "One More Brother"). Further singles from the album were "Shir Nehama," which featured Israeli traditional guitarist Yehuda Keisar; "Ani Ma'amin"; and "Lo Maspik." The latter was selected by EA Games for soundtrack of The Sims 3 expansion pack The Sims 3: Late Night, and was re-recorded in Simlish.