Elsusi - Concert & Talk

Palestinian rapper and musician Elsusi visits Denmark for a concert and talk. He blends Arabic hip-hop, melodic songwriting, and electronic rhythms in music about identity, freedom, and everyday life.

Elsusi survived the bombardments, destruction, and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and escaped the area. He was subsequently evacuated from Egypt to Norway through ICORN - International Cities of Refuge Network - and has since rebuilt his life and artistic work in Stavanger. His new songs draw on years of hidden ideas, lyrics, and emotions, moving between tenderness, grief, defiance, and joy; the music ranges from intimate to explosive and explores themes including love, fatherhood, displacement, identity, and artistic freedom.

The evening opens with a conversation between Elsusi and Ole Reitov, spokesperson for Freemuse and member of Danish PEN, about creating art when artistic freedom is under pressure, and how rap and music can tell stories that risk censorship or are reduced to political narratives. Afterwards, Elsusi takes the stage.

The event is a collaboration between Copenhagen Municipality's Free City initiative, Union, and Rapolitics, and is part of Danish PEN's Banned Books campaign on censorship, freedom of expression, and the right to create. Copenhagen has been a free city since 2010 and is one of 92 free cities worldwide under ICORN, which supports freedom of expression and artistic freedom by hosting artists who have had to flee their home countries because of their statements.