Hanouneh style resistance. Becoming hip-hop authentic by balancing skills and painful lived experiences

Author(s)	Andrea Dankic
Contact	Andrea Dankic, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: andrea.dankic@gmail.com
Issue	CyberOrient, Vol. 7, Iss. 2, 2013, pp. 42-66
Published	November 10, 2013
Type	Article
Abstract	The aim of this article is to examine the dialogically constructed authenticity between an independent hip-hop and reggae artist and her audience and how this construction in turn influences the music-making process, art production and artist identity. It is argued that authenticity is constructed by the artist deconstructing the expected connections between on the one hand particular cultural belongings, lived experiences and ethnic origins, and on the other hand a certain appearance, style, set of values and behaviour. The representation of the Middle East found in the music and the album imagery is analysed as a part of the authenticity construction. The ethnographic study which the article is based on utilises qualitative interviews with the artist and her audience as well as observation in addition to analyses of multimedia content to provide a perspective into the dialogically constructed authenticity.
Keywords	identity, gender, Palestine, rap music, music, Sweden