For more than 26 years, Tamer Nafar has bent language into a weapon, a mirror, and the airplane’s black box.

In his words: “The world is a crashing plane. I’m not Captain Sully; I cannot save the day. I’m that black box. I’m nothing but that black box. I document, eject seat, then cash out.”

From the birth of Palestinian hip-hop to today, his voice has never separated art from truth or culture from resistance.

In this episode, we sit with Tamer at a pivotal moment. As he prepares to release his first English-language album, In the Name of the Father, the Imam and John Lennon (out January 20), and embarks on a ⁠European tour starting January 26⁠, he reflects on creation under pressure, the cost of speaking clearly, and why storytelling matters when everything feels at stake. Beyond music, Tamer the activist uses his platform to raise funds for organizations like ⁠Clean Shelter⁠⁠ (https://www.cleanshelter.org/) ⁠and ⁠Resolute RGL (https://shorturl.at/82hQM)⁠. He continues to write, challenge, and provoke through his ⁠political op-eds⁠ (https://shorturl.at/FIAD3) , and he is expanding his literary world with upcoming novels ⁠3Gs (https://shorturl.at/GN6TJ)⁠ and 2 ATM’s.

Hip‑hop taught him to be a fireman in a burning world, not because he can stop the flames, but because turning away would be to burn too.