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Palestinian-American rapper Nizar Wattad.

A drive on the backstreets of Tennessee changed Nizar Wattad's life.

It was then that the young Palestinian American learned his brother was harboring the same secret he was. They both enjoyed freestyle rapping. The hip-hop trio called the Philistines - featuring Wattad (Ragtop), his younger brother B-Dub and their colleague Cookie Jar - emerged out of that car ride.

The group delivers conscious lyrics that touch upon minority struggles, the hip-hop community and the plight of the Palestinians. Wattad, who was born in Palestine but moved to the United States when he was just one year old, believes that hip-hop's conscious roots are a perfect match with his culture and artistic form of expression.

"We connect with it naturally," he says. "It's like the music of the oppressed which a lot of Arabs can relate to. The hip-hop community gets it," he says about the Palestinian struggle.

Wattad got into the music more because of the rhythms, the beats and the love than out of any socio-political message. After graduating college he worked as a journalist but wanted to get his thoughts out in what he felt was a more effective way. "I thought I would try my hand at the only medium kids are listening to," he explains.

The Philistines put together their first record in Sept. 2001 and released the 17 track album, called Self Defined, the following summer.

The heritage of the group shines through their songs. Wattad says they use their identity to reclaim historically derogatory words like "Philistines," which has meanings like smug, ignorant or barbaric. "We feel that is a stereotype that is placed on modern Palestinians," Wattad states. "But we have more culture than that."

The Philistines also helped raise funds for the documentary film Slingshot Hip-Hop, about Palestinian hip-hop artists, by releasing a CD called Free the P, the first Arab-American hip-hop project to secure nationwide distribution. The film is scheduled for release in 2008.

Wattad also works in the film industry as a screenwriter. His action-adventure script Agency was a finalist for the 2006 ABC/Walt Disney Studios Writer's Fellowship, and his civil-rights drama Glenville is currently a finalist for the 2008 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab. Wattad has also just completed a feature film script for Desert Door Productions, and currently writes for Hany Abu-Assad, director of the Golden Globe-winning Paradise Now. He is recording his first solo album, Back in the Day.

Learn more about the Philistines:

The Philistines - The Philistines on MySpace - Ragtop on MySpace - Slingshot Hip-Hop