A battle between beatsmiths Just Blaze and Swizz Beatz and a shot of verbal ether from Remy Ma aimed at Nicki Minaj served as reminders that hip-hop remains a culture unbound by industry rules.
The finalists are a Palestinian, a Yemeni and a Palestinian Israeli citizen. The show highlights and erases the region's borders. The Israeli citizen was given an honorary permit to travel to Beirut.