Mothafar Assar's spell in the limelight lasted only 30 minutes before the Hamas security forces came to break up his inaugural gig.
A crowd of 450 people had crammed into the hotel venue for Gaza's first rap party, scheduled to last for three hours. As the audience left, the police confiscated video cameras, returning them later with the subversive images of Assar's Street Band Rappers removed.
Assar was bitterly disappointed but not surprised. He had been running around until 3am that morning trying to secure a licence for the gig from authorities, who first raised concerns that the audience would be mixed and then said the music was haram (forbidden).
"They were giving me any excuse," he said, adding that even his appearance at the time – shaved head and sculpted beard, unusual in Gaza – counted against him.
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