Hadag Nachash (“Snakefish”) is this hugely popular Israeli band, and I finally heard them a few days ago–they’re pretty good. A fusion of hip-hop and jazz with some ska and traditional Middle Eastern riffs. And their rhymes aren’t cheap, the way a lot of Israeli pop is.
Anyway, it seems that starting Oct 15, they’ll be touring the States. Here’s a link to info in the Bay Area, Oct. 20-23. Don’t know anything about the site and don’t endorse it in any way, but they have the info up and play one of the band’s songs–“Shirat HaSticker”, about bumper stickers–so you can hear it for free.