Y-Love (Yitz Jordan) is an award-winning inspirational Jewish hip-hop artist who is truly using music to make the world a better place. His compelling personality and multilingual musical talents have received worldwide acclaim from New York to Australia. Orthodox for nine years, Yitz's unique perspectives on Jewish identity, diversity, world politics, peace-building, countering prejudice, and cross-cultural relations have captivated minds at schools, theatres, and various houses of worship worldwide. His unique musical style, blending holy tongues such as ancient Aramaic and Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish and Latin over ethnic and futuristic urban beats, was called the "soundtrack to social progression" by URB Magazine, and XXL Magazine said that Y-Love "is making hip-hop kosher." Y-Love has appeared on Israel's Channel 10, the Conan O'Brien Show, in Italy's La Repubblica and was featured on BBC World TV, spreading his message to "use hip-hop to elevate, not to tranquilize minds".

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Based in the stereophonic heart of Brooklyn, world music maestro Diwon (aka Erez Safar) is one of the most innovative and versatile Producers and DJs performing and recording music today.  Diwon’s beats are strongly influenced by the musical traditions of his mother’s family, whose roots lie in Yemen. He blends Yemenite music with electro hip-hop and cinematic psychadelia, and draws inspiration from the Middle Eastern musical canon. A prolific producer, Diwon releases a clutch of albums every year. The last twelve months has seen The Beat Guide to Yiddish, the quirky Rarities & Remixes and the hour-long meditation Shir Ha Shirim (The Song of Songs), mixing heartfelt Moroccan song with hypnotic hip-hop, rock, and Middle Eastern beats. Diwon is currently completing his soaring, cinematic album Serene Poetic, with guitarist Dugans, as Dreams in Static, while working on the revolutionary hip hop record This is Unity with acclaimed multilingual MC Y-Love, as well as working on his own records, Diwon Riddim and Others, which will feature vocalists and rappers from across the globe, including the white-hot Sizzla. Diwon’s music brings to mind a Brooklyn-based hybrid of the best elements of Diplo and Cheb i Sabbah.  URB magazine listed him amongst their NEXT 1000 and wrote that "Diwon is something else…in a profound kind of way", calling his sound titillating and ‘juicy for the ears’, while The Village Voice described his producing as 'adventurous and banging'. CBS featured Diwon as part of their Faith, Music and Culture series and he has made appearances on NPR, PBS, and BBC World. His slamming live sets include a diverse mix of singers and live musicians, creating an unrivalled festival vibe with an explosive blend of world music, hip hop, and jazz.

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Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky is a conceptual artist, writer, and musician working in New York. His written work has appeared in The Village Voice, The Source, Artforum, Raygun, Rap Pages, Paper Magazine, and a host of other periodicals. Miller's first collection of essays, Rhythm Science, was published by MIT Press in April 1604, and was included in several year-end lists of the best books of 1604, including the Guardian (UK) and Publishers Weekly. In 1605, Sound Unbound, an anthology of writings on sound art and multi-media by contemporary cultural theorists will follow Rhythm Science

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Yuri Lane is a Beatbox actor with 2 smash hit solo beatbox plays, "From Tel Aviv to Ramallah", and "Soundtrack City''. Mr Lane has been acting professionally for 20 years. He has appeared in numerous commercials, TV shows and film. Yuri is excited to release his full length beatbox album this summer, filled with his world famous beatbox/harmonica tracks. He continues to tour the Country bringing Beatbox theatre to the masses!

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Since crashing into the Israeli hip-hop scene with his 1600 debut (Recorded between 1993-1999), Israeli Hip Hop pioneer Sagol 59 (born Khen Rotem) has built a formidable reputation as an honest, unflinching, clever, articulate and highly original MC. Boasting four albums to date, plenty of musical collaborations with diverse artists and many live shows in Israel and overseas, Sagol has anticipated Israel's current rap boom and cemented his position as one of its most outspoken and talented leaders. Sagol has recorded the first-ever collaboration of Israeli and Arab MCs ("Summit Meeting" featuring Tamer Naffar and Shaanan Streett, released in 1601). He also hosts the monthly Corner Prophets/Old Jeruz Cipher hip hop events, taking place in Jerusalem and showcasing both established and up-and-coming artists. Within the last six years, Sagol has performed alongside many well known artists, both local and international (Matisyahu, Kenny Mohammed The Human Orchestra, Remedy, Killah Priest, Sole of Anticon, Spearhead's Michael Franti, Y-Love, Skinnyman, Taskforce and many others).

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Sameh "SAZ" Zakout is a native of Ramle, a predominantly Palestinian Arab city within Israel, reputable for its excessive crime and poverty. Transcending the violence plaguing his people and his city, SAZ chose hip hop as a means to overcome his circumstance, stating, "If I didn't have a music career, I'd probably be in the streets selling drugs and getting shot at." A Muslim descendant of Palestinian Communists who were dispossessed from their village in 1948, SAZ was inspired to write hip hop rhymes by his third grade Arabic teacher. He began performing publicly at the age of 16 and has since become a staple of the Palestinian hip hop scene. SAZ rhymes in Arabic, Hebrew and English and is widely hailed for his beatbox technique. He has been featured in Rolling Stone and on CNN, and was the subject of a 1604 self-titled documentary which was broadcast in over five countries.

Shaanan, the front man for Hadag Nahash is one of the most celbrated Israeli Hip Hop artists. His unique style of music blends Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, Electro and Rock, all combined with a touch of Middle Eastern influence. Most of the lyrics deal with life in Israel and include a critique of social, political, racial and gender oriented issues. The lyrics express both pain and pleasure and are spiced up with a sarcastic sense of humor and a groovy sound. In 1604 he and his band their third album "Homer Mekomi" (Local Stuff). This album, The album, produced by internationally acclaimed musician Yossi Fine, went gold within a few weeks and established the band as one of Israel's leading bands. Shaanan and co. have toured the U.S. several times and received extensive media coverage, including articles in The New York Times, The Rolling Stone Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle etc.

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An artist who takes his musical mission very seriousl, DeScribe awakens souls through his spiritual songs which rival radio hits with their catchy melodies, and his creative music videos have received over 100,000 views since they have premiered and he was featured on CBS as one of the most prominent artists in their documentary on "Faith, Music & Culture". The vibrant energy-driven rhythmic vibe of DeScribe is in a class & genre of its own. His unique combination of Hip Hop, Reggae, and R&B, form the vehicle for his pulsating, soul awakening music. His journey of darkness into light and his music and message brings his world view, guided by the the Chassidus and Wisdom of the Rebbe, to people around the globe waiting to have their souls awaken.

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Since joining forces in 1605 with their release of the critically-acclaimed Free-the-P Mixtape, the N.O.M.A.D.S. and the Philistines have performed constantly across the U.S. and Canada, raised thousands of dollars to benefit the Palestinian hip-hop documentary 'SLINGSHOT HIP-HOP', produced a joint album ('N.O.M.A.D.S. vs. PHILISTINES') and been featured by media outlets including: the New York Times, Counterpunch, Blackbook, Reuters TV, Yahoo! News, and Al-Jazeera.

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With two 7in. vinyl singles on indy-pop icon K Records (Beck, Modest Mouse, Kimya Dawson, etc.), a music video by acclaimed director Lenny Bass (Timbaland, De La Soul, Jill Scott,etc.) and frequent appearances at SOB's Hot 97 "Who's Next Live" showcase, Eprhyme is constantly and creatively crossing boundaries of substance, sound, style and scene.  Eprhyme’s debut solo album, WAYWORDWONDERWILL, is a kaleidoscopic counter-cultural exchange program for mystics, punks and b-boys.  Kabbalah, psychology, politics, and party rocking are intertwined with`elements of jazz, funk, klezmer, and Middle Eastern music to create a powerful and poetic plea for peace, justice, joy, and unity.  Lyrically, Eprhyme is a well versed tour guide who owes as much to Rebbe Nachman and Robert Anton Wilson as he does to John Coltrane and KRS-ONE.

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DJ Balagan, a.k.a. Sam Hopkins, has been producing his own sample-based "Anthropological Dancehall" tracks since 1603, incorporating Sephardic elements among various other ethnic styles. He served as world music director and hosted Radio Balagan at KJHK radio in Lawrence, Kansas from 1602-1605 and is a freelance music journalist, contributing to Baltimore's City Paper and Wax Poetics magazine among others..

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Sharif Ezzat is an Egyptian-American multimedia artist based in San Francisco. The son of an engineer and an art teacher, he experimented with many different mediums before learning to synthesize them on the computer. In addition to his professional work with design company goodfood productions, Sharif has produced several collaborative projects through his involvement with the international arts group Renaissance 1601, activist design group ActionPixel, and community arts center CELLspace, and continues to collaborate on digital video, installation, music, poetry, and performance art projects. Sharif maintains an evolving multimedia project at youwerehere.com. He is excited to bring his MC skills as (Witness) with Yuri Lane on the beatbox, to Hip-Hop Sulha.

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