The supremely talented, Syrian-American rapper, Omar Offendum, hit Sydney’s shores earlier this month, and one lucky Sajjeler, local spoken word artist Sara Saleh, caught up with him for a chat about all things hip hop, identity, culture, and language.

Big thanks go to Omar’s sponsors, the Department of Arabic Language and Cultures, Religion, State & Society Network and the US Studies Centre – University of Sydney, for making this interview possible.

In this first installment, Omar and Sara discuss third culture identity and music influences. Can Arabic literature and American hip-hop intersect?

Click here for parts two and three of the interview series…