Michael Cohen is a Tel Aviv-based producer and rapper with deep Los Angeles connections. His brilliant solo debut was released this year by Stones Throw, and he spent some formative years making music here and connecting with the scene. But he’s also a well-spring of knowledge and perspective on Israeli culture. We took advantage of both, gathering Cohen’s perspective on the diverse, musically fascinating country from which he hails and digging into his own projects — the instrumental Cohenbeats project and his Hebrew rap duo, Cohen@Mushon.

The L.A.-Tel Aviv connection

Few have a better perspective on the creative scenes in both Tel Aviv and Los Angeles than Cohen, who has lived and worked in both cities. As Cohen says, they actually have quite a bit in common. “There is a dialogue happening… a musical dialogue,” says Cohen. For one, both cities are quite multicultural — more heterogenous than outsiders often think.

Cohen incorporates this into his own creative process. “When you look at the music I make — I always look at the fact that if I use an Israeli sample and chop it and turn it into a beat, it’s already a cultural dialogue — [taking American] hip hop culture and mixing it with sounds from my part of the world,” he says.

The diversity of Tel Aviv

Cohen emphasizes the impossibility of understanding Israel without recognizing its diversity. “What’s beautiful about Israel is it brings so many backgrounds together,” he says. “The Jewish population is built from Jews who came from all over the world. Euro Jews and North African Jews [and Ethiopian Jews]. That’s just the Jewish population, not to mention the Arabs and Muslims. Israel is still trying to find out the vision, the identity thing. But for music it’s very good.”

Rapping in Hebrew

Cohen’s most recent music is mostly instrumental, but he’s broken ground in other areas, too. His project Cohen@mushon continues to release compelling rap music — all in Hebrew.

“Hebrew is the language we speak,” Cohen says. “Rapping in Hebrew feels more authentic. This is how I think.”

Hebrew rap in particular presents endless possibilities. “It’s like you’re exploring uncharted territory,” Cohen adds. “There aren’t any Hebrew rap cliches. It’s a blank canvas. The hip hop scene in Israel has been in a boom the last few years.”

In Israel, there’s still work to do

Cohen is quick to talk about the misunderstood multicultural beauty of Israel, but he doesn’t shy away from pointing out some of the struggles of amplifying its unsung musical heritage.

“Even though we take pride in how multicultural Tel Aviv is,” he says, “there are still lots of scenes that don’t touch each other.” The hip hop scene, however, is making strides.

“In the hip hop community, there’s much more openness,” Cohen says. “I can find myself collaborating with one of the Israelites, or an Arab rapper from Nazareth. Or [going] to shows from a Russian breakdance crew in Jerusalem. There are a lot of cool things that are still being overlooked.”

On top of that, Cohen says, is a curious irony: The fact that Israel, a country built on preserving culture and memory, hasn’t been so great at preserving some of its more recent history.

“We used to have two radio stations: One that belonged to the Army, and one that belonged to the government. And those stations had all the music,” says Cohen. “They have the most amazing archives. I keep reading about how it’s deteriorating and they’re struggling to keep it. Again, as a country that struggles to have so much pride and tradition, sometimes we don’t preserve tradition from the last 70 years.”

Listen on for more of our conversation with Michael Cohen, including the next generation is shaping music in Israel, some of his more unexpected influences (including Roc Marciano and Nina Simone).

Playlist:

Cohenbeats – Mushon’s House
Cohen@Mushon – Drop Song
Igal Bashan – Ode LeEli

 

 

 

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