Shabak Samech (aka Shabak S) is the first recognized rap

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

 and hip-hop group to come out of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, from the small town of Yavneh. Their sound is primarily hip-hop, but includes elements of rapcore

Rapcore

Rapcore is a subgenre of rap rock fusing vocal and sometimes instrumental elements of hip hop with punk rock .-History:...

, dancehall

Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

, ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 and funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

. Their sound has been compared to the Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

, Ugly Duckling, Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...

, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

, Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...

, Elephant Man and more. The group had two and three vocalists (Fuck A and Miro being replaced by Nimi Nim for their second album, Be'atifa shel Mamatak), two guitarists, a drummer and a bassist. The group continued to distinguish itself from the rest of the hip-hop acts in Israel as the scene continued to grow with unique sound and minimal reliance on beats and samples.

The word Shabak as it is written in Hebrew (שבק) is a misspelling of the Hebrew acronym for the Internal General Security Service of Israel.

Timeline

• 1992 – Shabak Samech original members (Plompy, Mook E., Fuck A, Miro, Assaf B. and Albert) form the band, then called FFM (Floating Fat-Man)
• 1993 – Assaf B. leaves and is replaced with Piloni. Davidi joins as bassist, replacing Mook E. (who was playing bass at the time). The name is changed to Shabak Samech.
• 1994 – Mook E. returns as vocalist, and James joins as drummer, replacing Albert.
• 1995 – First album, 7, is recorded in January. First radio airplay is in July, 1995 ("Shin Business" from 7). The album goes out for sale in September.
• 1996 – Miro leaves and is replaced by Nimi Nim.
• 1997 – Fuck A leaves. The second album, Be'atifa shel Mamatak, is released in August.
• 1998 – Live album released. Nimi Nim leaves late in the year.
• 1999 – Miro and Fuck A return. The band records C'naan 2000.
• 2000 – C'naan 2000 released.
• 2000 – Shabak Samech disbands. Mook E. goes on to pursue a reggae/rap solo career.
• 2003 – Mook E. and Piloni start a record label, Shabak Musichttp://www.shabakmusic.co.il/ .
• 2007 – Shabak Samech reunite and have a reunion concert. They began a small tour soon after. the fourth studio album, "boom carnival" is released in 2008

Band members

Current members

• Miro aka Amir Yeruham – frontman/vocals (1992–1996, 1999–2000, 2007–present)
• Mook E.
  Muki (singer)
  Daniel Niv , better known as Mooke is an Israeli singer and rapper, best known as the frontman for successful Israeli hip hop/punk act Shabak Samech between 1992 and 2000, and again since 2007. He is also a successful solo artist...
  
  aka Muki D. aka Danny Niv – vocals (1994–2000, 2007–present), bass (1992–1993)
• Fuck A aka Chemi aka Kfir Artzi – vocals (1992–1997, 1999–2000, 2007–present)
• Plompy B. aka Amir Besser – guitars (1992–2000, 2007–present)
• Piloni ("Little Elephant") aka Dani Kark – guitars (1993–2000, 2007–present)
• James aka Gal Sivan – drums, percussion (1994–2000, 2007–present)
• Davidi aka Master David aka David Muskatel – bass (1993–2000, 2007–present)

Former members

• Nimi Nim aka Nimrod Reshef – vocals (1996–1998)
• Albert – drums (1992–1994)
• Assaf B. – guitars (1992–1993)

Discography

• Shabak  – 1995
• Be'atifa shel Mamatak (trans: In A Candy Wrapper) – 1997
• Shabak Be'hofa'a (live album) – 1998
• C'naan 2000 – 2000
• Boom Carnival – 2008

External links

• Official Site
• Shabak Samech on Facebook