N.O.M.A.D.S. vs. Philistines, 2005 Written by The Philistines Courtesy of The Philistines
	N.O.M.A.D.S. vs. Philistines, 2005 The Philistines ft. Omar Offendum Courtesy of The Philistines

Written by Tom Schnabel

The Philistines are a Palestinian-Filipino hip-hop group based in Los Angeles. The eclectic group came together when emcees Ragtop and B-Dub, Palestinian brothers raised in East Tennessee, recruited the multi-talented Filipino-American producer/singer/emcee Cookie Jar to help with the production of their first album, Self-Defined. The group chose their name to reclaim the term "Philistine," which Webster defines as referring to a "barbaric, uncultured" or "materialistic" person, but The Philistines believe "they have more culture in one microphone than Webster has in its entire dictionary".

The Philistines rap mostly in English with a smattering of Arabic. Like much hip-hop, their music is socially conscious: their lyrics express the hardships, misunderstandings, frustrations, and hopes of people - in this case, Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans.

Since releasing Self-Defined, they've performed at numerous benefits, fundraisers, and protests as well as popular venues like Los Angeles' Key Club, BB King's, and the House of Blues. Their crowning moment came with the release of Free the P, a compilation of hip-hop and spoken word dedicated to the youth of Palestine and inspired by the global struggle for peace and justice. The CD, which features notable underground hip-hoppers like Immortal Technique and the Visionaries alongside HBO Def-Poet Suheir Hammad and a slew of Arab-American artists, is being sold to raise funds for the upcoming Palestinian hip-hop documentary Slingshot Hip-Hop.

The Philistines' plethora of influences - musical, literary and philosophical - include The Roots, author Edward Said, Black Star, Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Layla Khaled, Jay-Z, Malcolm X, Madlib, Suheir Hammad… a list as eclectic as their music.