Strong Black Coffee (, ''Café Shahor Hazak'') is an Israeli

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo of

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

origins. The duo was a nominee for the

2015 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2015 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago, near Milan, Italy, on 25 October 2015. This was the third time the awards have taken place in Italy, second time Milan has been the host ...

Best Israeli Act award.

Background

The duo consists of Uri Alamo and Ilak Sahalu. The two are cousins and come from an Ethiopian Jewish (

Beta Israel Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara Region, Amhara and Tigray Region, Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide ter ...

) family. Ilak Sahalu was born in 1990 in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, while Uri Alamo was born in 1992 in Israel. Ilak Sahalu immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia with his family as a 1 year old baby via

Operation Solomon Operation Solomon (, Mivtza Shlomo) was a covert Israeli military operation from May 24 to 25, 1991, to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Non-stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft, including Israeli Air Force C-130s and El Al Boeing 747s, tran ...

. Both were raised in

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

, Israel, and served in the

Israeli military The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, an ...

, with Sahalu serving as an officer.אורי זר אביב (June 10, 2015)
הצמד קפה שחור חזק כובש את לב ההיפ הופ הישראלי. ראיון
''

Time Out Tel Aviv ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

'' The two now live in

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

, Israel.

History

They began experimenting with hip-hop music when they were very young. When they were 16 years old they wrote a song in memory of a soldier. The Israeli telecommunications company Cellcom liked the song and sent them to a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

, where Sahalu said they met "some bearded musician who explained to us that this thing has rules. That it's a matter of quarters, a certain

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

. We started writing according to that logic, and things really did improve." They were introduced to Israeli musicians, did a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

for one singer, and shot a music video of it. Before becoming a rap star, Sahalu was a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

platoon commander A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. ...

, and combat officer in the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces' main infantry brigades. It has operated in all major wars and large-scale operations since its inception in 1982, playing key roles during the 1982 and the 2006 Lebanon Wars and t ...

of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. He served his last six months on the

Home Front Command The Home Front Command (HFC; , ''Pikud HaOref'', also referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym ''Pakar'') is an Israel Defense Forces military district command responsible for civil protection. It was created in February 1992 in response t ...

, at the Central Command headquarters in Jerusalem. They went on three performance tours in the United States over three years. Sahalu recalled: "We ... performed in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

... and there were 800 people in the audience, most of them black. We sang in Hebrew and they screened an English translation. People were surprised. They didn’t even know there are blacks in Israel." The duo then began to record at a recording studio in Hadera. They have now performed in over 20 countries. The two perform every weekend, and earn enough money to get by doing what discharged Israeli soldiers typically do: working as security guards, and in construction. In July 2015, American R&B singer

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

chose the duo to open a concert of his in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

, Israel. That same month, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel,

Dan Shapiro Daniel Benjamin "Dan" Shapiro (born August 1, 1969) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on March 29, 2011, and confirmed by the Senate on May 29. ...

, invited the duo to perform on the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

at the official residence of the Ambassador. The duo were a nominee for the

Best Israeli Act award.

Music and lyrics

The duo's music has been described as "very melodic and fairly soft rap, with clear signs of pop, but ... still a hip-hop band in every way." Their sources of inspiration are Americans

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, and

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, and other Ethiopian-Israeli artists such as the

Axum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...

rap ensemble and singer Esther Rada. Though they grew up in a difficult neighborhood, the two say that their music does not speak to the difficulties of growing up in a tough, neglected neighborhood. Elman said: "There always was and always will be racism. The question is whether to sit and cry about it all day long." Sahalu noted: "The first thing that happens when people see Ethiopians singing is that they expect us to say that things are hard for us. But life is beautiful sometimes." One of the duo's hit songs is "''Ihiye Beseder''" ("It'll Be Alright"; with a cheerful melody and appealing

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

; lyrics: "I know everything will be okay / Never mind what others say privately / We’ll manage with the help of God"; over 3 million YouTube views by October 2015, 2022 over 24 million). A more recent release of theirs is "''Hineh, Zeh Koreh''" ("Look, It’s Happening").Laura Kelly (October 11, 2015)
"Concert Review: Matisyahu,"
''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' "''Rak La'alot''" ("Just Rise") received 634,000 YouTube views within a few weeks. "Sofshavua" ("Weekend") had 389,000 YouTube views in six months. "The Way You Move" with Israeli rapper Soulja had 545,000 YouTube views in just over three months.

References

External links

Official Youtube channel"קפה שחור חזק מארחים את נצ'י נצ'-"יהיה בסדר // Cafe Shahor Hazak ft Nechi Nech - "Ihiye Beseder"
(video)
"קפה שחור חזק - "רק לעלות // Cafe Shahor Hazak - "Rak Laalot"
(video)
"קפה שחור חזק - "הנה זה קורה // Cafe Shahor Hazak - "Hine Ze Kore"
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong Black Coffee Israeli ethnic musical groups Hip-hop duos Ethiopian-Jewish culture in Israel Israeli hip-hop groups Ethiopian emigrants to Israel

Beta Israel Israeli male singer-songwriters Israeli singer-songwriters People from Netanya Jewish hip-hop groups Israeli musical duos