Kobi Oz ( he, קובי אוז, , born Ya'akov Uzan ( he, יעקב אוזן, ) on 17 September 1969) is the lead singer of Israeli group

Teapacks Teapacks (also known as Tipex) ( he, טיפקס) is an Israeli band that formed in 1988 as HaHotzaa La'Poal (Hebrew: , ''The Execution'') in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Originally the band was named after the correction fluid Tipp-Ex, b ...

Biography

Yaakov Uzan was born on 17 September 1969 in

Sderot Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the ...

Tunisian Jewish The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Ancient Carthage, Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism ...

parents who moved to the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

in 1942 to escape the pro-nazi

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

regime. In 1985, Uzan adopted the stage name Kobi Oz and began playing music and composing. He started out playing keyboards for the band

Sfatayim Sfatayim ( he, שפתיים, , "lips") was a rock band from Sderot, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, tran ...

, which performed traditional

Moroccan music Moroccan music varies greatly between geographic regions and social groups. It is influenced by musical styles including Arabic music, Arab, Berber music, Berber, Andalusian classical music, Andalusi, History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterran ...

. In 1988, Oz released two solo singles, "Silonim" (Jets) and "Lispor kvasim" (Counting Sheep), which didn't get much traction. "Lispor kvasim" would be revisited in 1992 for Teapacks' debut album, ''Shvil klipot hagarinim''. Two years later, he formed

with guitarist Einav Cohen, bassist Gal Peremen and drummer Tamir Yemini. Despite many lineup changes, Oz and Peremen remain in the band to this day. Footage of Oz' time in Sfatayim was used in the music video to the Teapacks song "Avodat kapayim" (Manual Labour) in 2016. The song itself tells the story of Oz's involvement in Sfatayim. This is not the first time Oz has used footage from his teenage years in a music video: the song "Elohai" (God), released in 2010, used footage from Oz's Bar Mitzvah as a music video, as well as sampling an old recording of his grandfather singing. The song "Lo haya lano klum" (We Had Nothing) tells the story of the exodus of the Mizrahi Jews from their native countries, and the video features Oz' mother Rachel Uzan. Oz is the author of two books: ''Petty Hoodlum'' (2002) and ''Moshe Chuato and the Raven'' (1996). He organized a demonstration in 2007 to raise public awareness of the tragedy of his home town, which is constantly under missile attack from the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. About 40,000 people came to

Rabin Square Rabin is a Hebrew surname. It originates from the Hebrew word ''rav'' meaning Rabbi, or from the name of the specific Rabbi Abin. The most well known bearer of the name was Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel and Nobel Peace prize Laureate. ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

to show solidarity with the inhabitants of Sderot."Close Despite the Distance"
''Ynetnews''. Retrieved 25 February 2016. In 2010, Oz released his second solo album, ''Mizmorey Nevochim'' (''Psalms for the Perplexed'').

Discography

* ''Silonim'' (Jets), 1988 * ''Lispor kvasim'' (Counting Sheep), 1988 * ''D'ma'ot veYam'' (Ocean and Tears), 2004 * ''Mizmorey Nevochim'' (Psalms for the Perplexed), 2010 * ''Mizmorim Nosafim'' (Some More Psalms), 2011

Bibliography

* ''Moshe Chuvato ve ha-orev'' (1996) * ''Avaryan tzaatzua'' (2002)

References

External links

Teapacks
*Kobi Oz
Addicted to Pluralities
Kobi Oz, reveals a multi-faceted identity
Eretz Acheret
Magazine
Makom on Kobi Oz' Mizmorim Nevochim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oz, Kobi 1969 births Living people 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli keyboardists 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli pop singers Israeli people of Tunisian-Jewish descent People from Sderot Jewish rock musicians Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2007

Biography

Discography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links