We’re speaking this week to Israeli rap impresario Shaanan Streett, the founding member of hiphop/funk band Hadag Nahash, currently celebrating its 25th year.

During our conversation in Streett's Jerusalem studio, we discuss reaching this career pinnacle, the band's improbable start and finding the balance between the songs of protest and, as Streett says, "the importance of having fun."

We also talk about Streett's new solo album and his first Arabic single,"Arabiyaty ElMaksura," sung entirely by Streett in Arabic, the language he's been working on for the last decade. 

Streett also recently published his first book, a fictional work about Jerusalem skateboarders and graffiti artists. We discuss the art of writing and interpreting dreams, something he does with friends in his "Dream a Dream" podcast and finally, his ongoing relationship with the city of Jerusalem, where he was raised and still lives and works.

IMAGE: Rapper, writer and dream interpreter Shaanan Streett (Courtesy)