Ya'akov "Kobi" Shimony (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: יעקב "קובי" שמעוני, born November 13, 1979), generally known by his stage name Subliminal ( he, סאבלימינל), is an Israeli rapper, singer and record producer.

Background

Subliminal was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

to a

Persian Jewish Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

mother and

Tunisian Jewish The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Ancient Carthage, Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism ...

father from

Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...

. Subliminal started performing music at age 12, and at age 15 met Yoav Eliasi. The two quickly became friends as a result of their mutual love of hip-hop. In 1995 the two began performing in Israeli clubs geared toward a hip-hop audience, wearing baggy clothes and gold chains. They quickly developed a following among the nation's youth, and soon put out their first album, "The Light From Zion". After the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, the two began writing patriotic songs. They became known as creators of "

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

hip-hop", a label still applied to them. In further contrast to the generally rebellious "outlaw" nature of most hip-hop, they also praise army service and eschew drugs and smoking. Being the son of

Jewish refugees This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews. Timeline The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees. Assyrian captivity ; ...

is at the core of Subliminal's hard-line politics. "In Tunisia, my father grew up with his family locking all the doors and windows whenever performing a Jewish ceremony -- out of fear of attacks." Both parents, he says, "ran for their lives" to Israel, where they spent decades recovering from the persecution they had faced.Israeli Rapper Takes U.S. : Rolling Stone
Subliminal and his rapping partner at the time, Ha'Tzel ("The Shadow"), also helped discover the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

rapper

Tamer Nafar Tamer Nafar ( ar, تامر النفار, he, תאמר נפאר; born June 6, 1979) is an Israeli rapper, actor, screenwriter and social activist who identifies as Palestinian. He is the leader and a founding member of DAM, the first Palestini ...

; they collaborated but eventually fell out over Subliminal and Nafar's political disagreement. The bitter end of their musical relationship is chronicled in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, '' Channels of Rage''. In 2006, Subliminal collaborated with countertenor

David D'Or David D'Or ( he, דוד ד'אור; born David Nehaisi on October 2, 1965) is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter. A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" a ...

to produce the song "Ten Koah" ("Give Me Strength") on Subliminal's hip hop album, ''Just When You Thought it Was Over''. In 2010, Subliminal married Ines Goldberg.

Social impact

Through lyrics and concerts, Subliminal and his rap group aim to inspire and encourage a new generation to stand as a unified Israeli nation. At many of his concerts, Subliminal begins by calling to the audience, "Who is proud to be a Zionist in the state of Israel, put your hands in the air! Hell yeah!"Joshua Mitnick,
Israeli Hip-Hop Takes on Mideast Politics
" USA Today, November 6, 2003. Subliminal can be seen at many of his concerts wearing American hip hop clothing and a large Star of David chain necklace. Journalist Joshua Mitnick writes that with Subliminal's patriotic, 2002 chart-topping album "Ha’or v’Ha’tzel" (The Light and the Shadow),

He transformed the Star of David into a fashion statement and helped integrate the music of urban America into the fold of Israeli pop… For Subliminal, the music has generated tens of thousands of record sales. For Israeli teens, it has given voice to their outrage at the state of affairs in their country. Hip-hop, a quintessentially American art form, is helping bolster national morale in a country bruised by… years of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.

Quotes

Discography

Studio albums * '' Ha'Or m'Zion'' (האור מציון, "The Light From Zion") (2000) * '' Ha'Or Ve'HaTzel'' with HaTzel (האור והצל, "The Light and the Shadow") 2002 * ''TACT All-Stars'' with Mishpacha TACT (תאקט אול סטארז, "TACT All-Stars") (2004) * ''Bediuk Kshe'Chashavtem she'Hakol Nigmar'' (בדיוק כשחשבתם שהכל נגמר, "Just When You Thought It Was All Over") (2006) * ''Jew-niversal'' (2011) * ''Tzeva Lahaim'' (צבע לחיים, "Life in colour") (2017)

External links

TACT Records
- Subliminal's official record label
Official Facebook page

Official YouTube channel

"Israeli rappers prove hip-hop will translate to any language"
by Loolwa Khazzoom, ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', 2004-01-04

References