Rinat Gutman: Religious, Radiant and…a Rapper?
Miriam Gofine
Issue date: 5/5/09 Section: Arts & Culture
Rinat Gutman is an Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem. She was bestowed with a musical gift, and has been developing it for the past eight years. Unlike countless women like herself, however, she actually performs her music in Israel. Now a rising star, she uses words and rhythm to convey her thoughts on everything from the state of western culture to Hasidic tales. The Observer got the inside scoop on what it's like to be religious, Israeli, female - and a rapper.
(Translated from Hebrew.)
The Observer: Where are you from in Israel? Where do you live now?
Rinat Gutman: I am originally from Moshav Nahalim, which is beside Petach Tikva. Now I live in the most beautiful city in Israel, Jerusalem.
The Observer: Do you have another profession? Are you a student?
Rinat: Yes, I'm a fitness trainer - I did a fitness training course at the Wingate Institute, and I now work in the field.
The Observer: Do you rap professionally?
Rinat: Professionalism in music is very important to me, so take voice development lessons. Of course, I also follow specific musical principles in my rap, such as rhythm, flow, variety etc. But it's important to remember that rap is essentially music, rhythm and tones. Music is something that comes from the highest place in the soul, from the source.
That's why it also succeeds in moving people and touching them! So does the word "professionalism" come into play here? In order to cause music to touch people in an inner place, you simply need to be clean and true, and that is it succeeds in moving forward!
"Things that come from the heart, enter the heart."
The Observer: When did you start rapping?
Rinat: I first started to write regular songs. I wrote my first song about eight years ago in response to the murder of my cousin, Elazar Leibowitz (may God avenge his blood), from the holy city of Hevron. He was a special person, and he returned his soul to his Creator on a Friday, just before Shabbat started. He was murdered in a terrorist attack that occurred in the area around south Har Hevron. I felt at that time the need to eternalize his memory in my own way, so I wrote a song about him, and from then, essentially, I continued to write more songs and it was only after about three years that I began to write rap.
(Translated from Hebrew.)
The Observer: Where are you from in Israel? Where do you live now?
Rinat Gutman: I am originally from Moshav Nahalim, which is beside Petach Tikva. Now I live in the most beautiful city in Israel, Jerusalem.
The Observer: Do you have another profession? Are you a student?
Rinat: Yes, I'm a fitness trainer - I did a fitness training course at the Wingate Institute, and I now work in the field.
The Observer: Do you rap professionally?
Rinat: Professionalism in music is very important to me, so take voice development lessons. Of course, I also follow specific musical principles in my rap, such as rhythm, flow, variety etc. But it's important to remember that rap is essentially music, rhythm and tones. Music is something that comes from the highest place in the soul, from the source.
That's why it also succeeds in moving people and touching them! So does the word "professionalism" come into play here? In order to cause music to touch people in an inner place, you simply need to be clean and true, and that is it succeeds in moving forward!
"Things that come from the heart, enter the heart."
The Observer: When did you start rapping?
Rinat: I first started to write regular songs. I wrote my first song about eight years ago in response to the murder of my cousin, Elazar Leibowitz (may God avenge his blood), from the holy city of Hevron. He was a special person, and he returned his soul to his Creator on a Friday, just before Shabbat started. He was murdered in a terrorist attack that occurred in the area around south Har Hevron. I felt at that time the need to eternalize his memory in my own way, so I wrote a song about him, and from then, essentially, I continued to write more songs and it was only after about three years that I began to write rap.
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