Rhythms of an Uprising: Indexing the 2021 Unity Intifada Through an Analysis of Palestinian Rap Music

The 2021 Unity Intifada marked a turning point in Palestinian resistance, repoliticizing Palestinian youth in ways unseen since the second intifada. This article traces the evolution of conceptions of resistance among young Palestinian men between 2018 and 2021 through an analysis of Palestinian rap music. Examining the development of two masculine identities among the Palestinian youth of Jerusalem—the dod (a transgressive and lumpen-like countercultural figure) and the gada‘ (a brave man who fearlessly ­confronts the occupier)—through the lyrics of prominent Palestinian rappers, this article argues that these two modes of identification contribute to the creation of new representational politics and spaces of belonging among disaffected Palestinian youth. These developments in turn structure how resistance is understood and practiced by a generation of Palestinians consuming a new wave of Palestinian rap that challenges the neoliberal pacification of Palestinian society.