If you’ve been keeping score on ‘We’re Not Kidding’, so far Mehdi has spoken with several comedians, actors, broadcasters, and one beauty mogul. Now he’s is joined by our first internationally acclaimed musician — the Palestinian-Lebanese-American singer-songwriter-rapper Anees — to talk about his activism on Gaza and his belief in the power of music to influence politics.
Anees tells Mehdi about his winding career path of going to law school, passing the bar exam, and delivering pizzas for 10 years. Though you may be surprised to find out which of those had the most lasting impact. “All the things I know today about being an artist were learned in the art of delivering pizzas,” Anees says. After getting his big break during an Instagram livestream with superstar Justin Bieber, Anees made the leap from up-and-comer to professional musician.
Growing up in a half-Palestinian, half-Lebanese household with a father who worked in civil rights, Anees explains to Mehdi how making political music isn’t even a conscious choice for him. Though when it comes to other famous musical artists, including a well-known Palestinian (cough cough, DJ Khaled), Anees has his own thoughts as to why some celebrities choose to stay out of the political fray. “Sometimes these celebrities that seem like they're these big people are very small.” When discussing US lawmakers and Israel, the duo unpack the mixed signals coming from progressives like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and whether purity tests on the left are helpful or harmful.
Finally, Mehdi and Anees discuss the possibility of Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayor’s race and the shockwaves it would send to the political establishment. “Zohran is about the interests of people over the interests of elites. Zohran is about the interests of the people over the interests of lobbies and foreign powers,” Anees says. “He’s a crack in the matrix.”
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