Baghdad ( CNN ) -- Wearing hooded sweatshirts , baseball hats and sports gear , the five young men alternated between nodding their heads to the rhythm and taking hold of the microphone to pour out their anger , their insights , their pain . `` No matter if you 're Muslim , no matter if you 're Christian , no matter the religion , we all are human , '' intones DK . The scene and sounds would n't be unusual in many U.S. cities , where rap has been part of urban culture for decades . But this is Baghdad . Members of the Smashing Hits , as the quintet calls itself , are aware that their music may seem out of place in Iraq . Traditionally , the Middle Eastern country is better known for sounds emanating from instruments like the oud and rebab , rather than from a microphone or turntable . Yet this group not only embraces American culture , it literally speaks its language -- modeling American idols Eminem and the late Tupac Shakur , and rapping exclusively in English rather than the native tongue of Arabic . The reason for that choice is that they want people in the West to understand what 's really happening in their homeland . `` It 's ... a message to the West ... to make them know who we are , things we can do here -- not just the violence , the terrorists , '' said Thoulfiqar Harith , or Fop , the group 's 19-year-old founder . Beyond speaking English , they feel that rap offers them an authentic , powerful medium to express what they see and how they feel . That 's why , for the past two years , the friends say they have recorded self-written tracks inside a small studio and rapped at outside venues . While they hope their music will catch on , for now they say they fund the effort themselves . During a recent performance before a small audience in a city field , the dark side of Baghdad was woven into many of their lyrics , as is the sentiment than many outside Iraq do n't really understand what the situation is like . Rapped one member , `` We livin ' in hell and nobody hears our calls ; everyday in Baghdad , our tears do fall . '' The hurt , and thus the lyrics , are raw and personal for men like DK , or Omar Ayad . His best friend Fadi , a 25-year-old neighbor whom he worked with at a newspaper , was among 70 killed on October 31 , when militants stormed Baghdad 's Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral , or Our Lady of Salvation Church . Afterward , he penned a rap railing against the attackers who `` in the name of Allah ( tried ) to kill my brother , '' as well as the `` dead bodies in the streets . '' A Muslim , Ayad said he grew up with many Christian friends , who have been increasingly targeted around the country because of their religion . The church siege , and the violence overall , hit him hard . But he said that he 's glad to have an outlet with the Smashing Hits , not just to voice his feelings but also to bond with friends . `` The most important thing is they are really , really good guys , '' Ayad said of his fellow group members . `` It 's really hard to find people with good hearts , big hearts . ''
Smashing Hits is an English-language rap group based in Baghdad . Its five members rap about life in Iraq , aiming to send `` a message to the West '' One member says some of his lyrics are inspired by the deadly October 31 church siege .