Emmanuel Jal, one of many artists featured in the Cultures of Resistance feature film, escaped the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and has since become an international hip-hop sensation and an advocate for other child soldiers. Read his story and find out what motivates his music and activism.
Cultures of Resistance teamed up with Hich Kas to produce this track and video to expose some of the diversity of Iranian culture not shown in western media, and to invite people to take another look at Iran and its people. The video has been viewed online more than 200,000 times, despite the fact that Hichkas has been refused official permission to release his music in Iran.
The language of music is universal. Although each culture produces its own specific musical forms, the appeal that these forms hold is not limited to any particular time or place. Like the other arts, music is able to transcend the arbitrary boundaries that humans devise to separate themselves from others.
In February 2008, the New York Philharmonic made a historic trip to North Korea to perform in Pyongyang; it was the first time that an American arts group of any kind had ever performed there. Cultures of Resistance was pleased to support this performance and to join the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang.