Harbu Darbu

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"Harbu Darbu"
"חרבו דרבו"
Single by Ness and Stilla
LanguageHebrew
ReleasedNovember 14, 2023 (2023-11-14)
GenreIsraeli hip hop, drill, trap
Length2:29
Ness and Stilla singles chronology
"תיק קטן"
(2023) 		"Harbu Darbu"
"חרבו דרבו"
(2023)

"Harbu Darbu" (Hebrew: חרבו דרבו) is a song by Israeli musical duo Ness and Stilla. The drill song reached #1 on streaming platforms in Israel. The song's title refers to "raining hell on one's opponent", being derived from an Arabic expression meaning "swords and strikes". The lyrics of the song support the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and condemn the perpetrators of the Hamas attack on Israel, calling for the deaths of the leaders of Hamas as well as the Western celebrities Bella Hadid, Mia Khalifa, and Dua Lipa. The single was released on 14 November 2023, just over a month after the attacks, and was featured on the Galgalatz radio station. Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye criticized it for endorsing genocide.

Background and origin

Israeli musical duo Ness and Stilla [he] formed in 2023 and had a successful debut single in April 2023 with "Tik Katan" (Small Purse).[1] Recording for "Harbu Darbu" commenced a month after the October Hamas-led attack on Israel. Ness (Nessya Levi [he]) and Stilla (Dor Soroker [he]) said that they wrote "Harbu Darbu" to raise the Israeli people's morale, deciding it was "time to replace the sadness with anger".[2]

The song's name is a distortion of the Syrian Arabic حرب وضرب, meaning "swords and strikes". In Hebrew, the phrase evolved through criminal slang[3][4] and means "to destroy an enemy"[5] or "raining hell on one's opponent".[4]

In a post on Instagram, Soroker and Levi wrote "We are back in the studio. This is the result. This song is not really our song, it's your song. For more than a month, all the fighters, the female fighters, and the security forces all over the country have been giving their hearts and souls for all of us. This song is yours and only yours and you should know it well - every dog gets its day."[6]

Music and lyrics

"Harbu Darbu" is a trap song, typical of Israeli hip hop, with a minimalist drill beat. Vocalists Stilla and Ness trade off verses in the song.[7][4]

As a patriotic anthem, "Harbu Darbu" praises soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The song's chorus is a roll call of units of the IDF, including the Golani Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, the Armored Corps, the Givati Brigade, the Israeli Navy, the Israeli Air Force, the Artillery Corps, the Paratroopers Brigade. Duvdevan Unit, and M113 armored personnel carriers (Bardelas). In a verse by Ness, she raps about how all the girls have their eyes on the soldiers and remarks on how even the "guy on the news" is beginning to look handsome, referring to television presenter Danny Kushmaro.[7][a] The song endorses writing the names of the Israeli children who died in the Gaza envelope on bomb shells, and sending them to Gaza. Another verse says that the slogan "Free Palestine" sounds like a holiday sale.[8]

"Harbu Darbu" condemns the perpetrators of the Hamas attack on Israel and calls for revenge on anyone who planned, executed, or supported it. It tells the people of Gaza to "wait for [bombs] to rain on you like a debt",[5] with one verse referring to Hamas as "sons of Amalek",[4] echoing Netanyahu's statement in the wake of the attack, saying that Israelis were "committed to completely eliminating this evil (of Hamas) from the world", adding: "You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember".[b][9] The lyrics call for enemies to be "Xed out", using the phrase "every dog's day will come" in Arabic,[4] conveying the idea that wrongdoers will eventually face consequences.[10] The song then names a series of enemies, beginning with Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. The song goes on to call for the deaths[11][12][13] of Western celebrities Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, and Mia Khalifa, who expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and criticized Israel.[14][15][16]

Critical reception

A review for "Harbu Darbu" in The Times of Israel found that the song "encapsulates a feeling of righteous fury" following the previous month's Hamas-led attack.[4] Ynet called it an "infectious trap piece",[7] while Dor Meir Moalem of Mako wrote that the song could have a better hook.[8] An article in The Forward called "Harbu Darbu" a "hawkish war cry". The song was featured on the Galgalatz radio station as part of Ido Porat's New and Interesting show. Israel studies professor Shayna Weiss said that the anger and extreme politics of the song are a departure from the sad songs traditionally played on the radio during times of conflict, with "Harbu Darbu" being a "rally around the flag, Zionist anthem" more typical of the Second Intifada.[5] In the Arab world, the song caused outrage, with Al Jazeera English and Middle East Eye saying that the song endorsed genocide.[17][18] Billboard magazine included "Harbu Darbu" in a Hanukkah playlist, comparing it to a "trap and drill" version of Leonard Cohen's performances for the IDF during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.[19]

Mia K. Twitter
@miakhalifa

Y'all that song calling for the IDF to kill me, Bella, and Dua is over a DRILL beat, they can't even call for genocide in their own culture, they had to colonize something to get it to #1

2 December 2023[20]

Mia Khalifa criticized the song's use of a drill beat, writing "they can't even call for genocide in their own culture, they had to colonize something to get it to #1."[15] Stilla responded to Khalifa, calling her an idiot. A statement by the artists said, "We are happy for the conversation the song is sparking around the world, that everyone will know and remember that we are a strong nation, a strong army and most importantly, everyone gets their due."[17]

Music video and performances

A music video for "Harbu Darbu" was released alongside the single on 14 November 2023. The video, directed by Omer Aloni, features the two musicians in various urban and desert locales.[4] Ness and Stilla have performed the song for IDF soldiers.[5]

Charts

As of December 2023, "Harbu Darbu" has received over 6 million listens and views.[5] The song reached #1 on Israel's Mako Hit List [he].[21] It was also the most popular song on streaming platforms in Israel, including YouTube and Spotify.[22]

Chart performance for "Harbu Darbu"
Country Chart (2023) Peak
position
Israel Media Forest 8[23]
Israel Mako Hit List [he] 1[21]
Israel Israeli Singles Chart [he] 1[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Besides Danny Kushmaro, Ness mentioned that Tamir Steinman [he] and Brhanu Tegene [he] were also "rock stars".[7][1]
  2. ^ "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Samuel 15:3, King James Version)

References

  1. ^ a b Yiftach, Carmeli (14 November 2023). ""תכינו את התחת, זה חיל האוויר": אחרי "תיק קטן" נס וסטילה מפגיזים" [Harbu Darbu: Ness and Stila's new song comes to break Hamas]. Mako. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ^ ""זה הזמן להחליף את העצב – בכעס": הצעד של יוצרי "תיק קטן" בצל המלחמה". רשת 13 (in Hebrew). 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. ^ "מה זה חרבו דרבו? להיט המלחמה של נס וסטילה" [What is a Harbu Darbu?]. Mako. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Fiske, Gavriel (21 November 2023). "Hip-hop war anthem reaches number one in Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Levitt, Tani (4 December 2023). "Why the No. 1 song in Israel represents a radical shift in Israeli pop music". The Forward. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ^ Mizrahi, Dorit Assaraf (14 November 2023). ""צה"ל במוד לחרבו דרבו": שיר המלחמה של יוצרי "תיק קטן"" [The IDF prepares to draw its sword: The war song of the creators of "Small Purse"]. KAN11 (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 3 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Schiff, Einav (14 November 2023). "חודש שאנחנו שוחים במוות, זוועה והשפלה. גם "חרבו דרבו" לא ישנה את זה" [For a month we are swimming in death, horror and humiliation. Not even "Harbu Darbu" will change that]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b Moalem, Dor Meir (16 November 2023). "חרבו דרבו: סוף סוף אפשר להפסיק לקנא בחמאס". Mako. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  9. ^ Alsharif, Mirna (30 October 2023). "Netanyahu invokes 'Amalek' narrative in speech about expanding ground operation in Gaza". NBC News. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  10. ^ "כל כלב ביג'י יומו", ויקימילון (in Hebrew), 2 August 2023, retrieved 5 December 2023
  11. ^ Chehab, Mariam (4 December 2023). "الأعلى استماعا في إسرائيل.. أغنية تدعو إلى قتل نصرالله وهنية والضيف وميا خليفة وبيلا حديد" [The most listened to song in Israel.. A song calling for the killing of Nasrallah, Haniyeh, Al-Deif, Mia Khalifa, and Bella Hadid]. Euronews (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  12. ^ Taman, Ghalia (6 December 2023). "Israel's #1 Song 'Harbu Darbu' Calls For Killing Of Palestinians, Dua Lipa & More". Scoop Empire.
  13. ^ Pita, Antonio (10 December 2023). "Todos con la guerra en Israel". El País (in Spanish).
  14. ^ Jalal, Mahnoor (2 December 2023). "Number one song in Israel calls for murder of Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa". The Current.
  15. ^ a b Smith, Ryan (4 December 2023). "Mia Khalifa reacts to song calling for her murder". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Israeli Song Advocates Murder of Palestine Supporters, Tops Music Charts". Global Village Space. 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b Boker, Ran (6 December 2023). "From Al Jazeera to Grey's Anatomy's star: Israeli song faces outrage in Arab world". Ynet.
  18. ^ "Genocidal music: Charbu Darbu". Middle East Eye. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  19. ^ Dillz, Kosha (8 December 2023). "Celebrate Hanukkah With This Playlist: Songs From Haim, Remedy, Matisyahu & More". Billboard.
  20. ^ Mia K. [@miakhalifa] (2 December 2023). "Y'all that song calling for the IDF to kill me, Bella, and Dua is over a DRILL beat, they can't even call for genocide in their own culture, they had to colonize something to get it to #1" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ a b "מצעד המוזיקה של ישראל". Mako Hit List. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023.
  22. ^ "La canción más popular en Israel es un rap que pide violencia contra los palestinos". Shock (in Spanish). 6 December 2023.
  23. ^ "המצעד השבועי של מדיה פורסט" (in Hebrew). Media Forest. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Israeli Singles Chart" (in Hebrew). Galgalat. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harbu_Darbu&oldid=1189293674"