Tension and togetherness at a rare Syrian hip-hop open mic night

Tension and togetherness at a rare Syrian hip-hop open mic night

Latakia levels — After half a century under a bloody dictatorship, Syria has endured massacres on an unprecedented scale in recent times, fuelled by sectarian conflict. In the port city of Latakia, Haydar Daoud and his friends spend their days making rap music, an art form mostly misunderstood by Syrians, yet an essential therapy for disenchanted youth. This story appears in Huck 82: The Music Issue. Order your copy now.Smiling, walking briskly,…