#Arabic Music

[zegalba]

Fairouz by the Giza Pyramids (1989)

[haveyouheardthisband]

[kawaiixchaotic]

i have been crying about this for days. the arabic language is so beautiful. i am both thankful to this artist for sharing this gorgeous song with us, and torn to pieces thinking about how much pain she must be in watching her home get destroyed and her people suffer.

she mentions sending peace on an olive branch. edit: "olive" means zaytun (زيتون) watch out for this word if you read/see/hear Palestinian art, the cultural context will help you understand the message more. besides the olive branch being a well known symbol for peace (it's even on the United States dollar AND the United States Seal) there is a rich historical and cultural context behind this lyric. for those who don't know, Palestine has been known for its olive trees for millennia. some of the oldest living olive trees in the entire world are in Palestine (although i really don't know if they are still standing at this moment). olives are well-loved and crucial to Palestinian cuisine, as well as being a major source of income, since many Palestinians are olive farmers and have been for generations. a symbol for peace, harmony, friendship, resilience, and perserverance, the olive tree represents Palestinian spirit, and olive leaf patterns are also featured on the Palestinian keffiyeh.

there is another lyric where she says "in the land of peace, peace is dead." one english transliteration of this arabic phrase is "fi 'ard alsalam mat alsalam" with 'ard (أرض) meaning land/earth, al-salam or more commonly salam (سلام) meaning peace, and mat (مات) being a conjugation from the word mawt (موت) meaning death. (I'm not sure in which tense, arabic has so many tenses and I don't want to spread misinformation, my knowledge of the arabic language is like 1st grade level and mostly from osmosis due to growing up Muslim and having early exposure to the language through the Quran and basic classes at Islamic school, and I'm not even a practicing Muslim anymore, so pls feel free to correct my mistakes) lyrically, it was this phrase that stuck out to me the most, because of the emphasis placed on "peace" through its repetition. in the land of peace, peace is dead; Palestine is The Holy Land in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. peace was the foundation of the land, not just peace meaning lack of war but peace as in spiritual peace, the kind of peace that fills your heart with love for this world and the people in it. now that this peace is being actively destroyed, Palestine is losing itself. Elyanna (the singer) is saying that her home is being gutted from the inside out, until it's unrecognizable, until it lacks the one thing that MADE Palestine; peace. It is heartbreaking.

The reason I am sharing this song and breaking down this lyric is because I want to re-humanize the Arabic language and Arab culture. It has been demonized for far too long, and it was/is on PURPOSE. IDF soldiers bombing Al-Shifa hospital and claiming (lying) that they found a list of Hamas guards and hostages (that were never in the hospital) when it was a CALENDAR and the only names of "Hamas guards" listed were fucking Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, is exactly what I mean when I say that the world has been so successfully brainwashed against MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) that even the Arabic language itself, written or spoken, is perceived as inherently violent and threatening.

I hope this post has contributed in helping you unlearn the racism and anti-Arab/anti-Middle Eastern propoganda you have been taught.

From the river to the sea, Palestine 🇵🇸 will be free.

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

[gorillawithautism]

if anyone has arabic music to recommend to me please feel free to do that at any time

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Habibi • Sun May Shine • Tummy • Chambers • So It Goes • Indigo Night • Cigar • Each Time • Verses • w.o.t.h • Intervals • Persephone

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[purplealbumoftheday]

today's purple album of the day is: Kifak Inta by Fairuz!

[docileeffects]

[brettesims]

Palestinian Artist: Elyanna

🪬⚔️🧿 Yea she’s fire! Let’s remember that Palestinians are lovers, purists and artists! Support Palestinian artists! Run their shit up! The revolution is now.

Elyanna said her sister creates her entire wardrobe and the theme is like “angry angel” lmao I felt that.

Free Palestine! 🇵🇸

[wartina]

BABA

Manal, Ghali

[y2kbeautyandother2000sstuff]

Encart 97 World Music Tour Sacred Sufi Music and Ney

1997

Stills taken from Youtube, user RollOnToVictory

I absolutely loved this one! My dad's side is Lebanese and Syrian and I swear my ears knew that because I've loved Middle Eastern music since I was a kid and before I delved into learning about my heritage.

[hummussexual]

From North Africa to the Persian Gulf, from Rai to dance-pop to romantic ballads BY DANNY HAJJAR APRIL 26, 2024

ENCOMPASSING DOZENS OF countries inhabited by close to 500 million people, the Arab world is enormously diverse, and its music reflects that. Our list of the 50 best Arabic pop songs of the 21st century includes everything from Algerian rai to Egyptian dance-pop to romantic ballads from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The songs here can have traditional roots that go back many decades, but they can also reflect today’s pop trends — many do both at once.  At the end of the last century and early in this one, the music industry in the Middle East and North Africa was dominated by artists from Egypt and Lebanon, two countries that had long been cultural hubs with large commercial markets. But in the past 15 years artists from North African and the Persian Gulf have found more crossover success, though both regions had long had their own blossoming music scenes —and in the case of North Africa had produced many artists with audiences in Europe. We made the list by consulting a panel of academics, music journalists, industry professionals, historians, and artists. Sounds naturally change over time, and representing as many countries and communities as possible remained a priority as we compiled the list. The final ranking takes into account the quality of the song, its popularity, and its cultural impact. To be considered for the list, a song had to fit the traditional mold of the Arabic pop genre, or be a song by an Arabic artist in another genre that crossed over to have wide success with audiences in the region. Additionally, at least 50 percent of the song’s lyrics had to be sung in an Arabic language. Had that not been part of the criteria, this list would’ve included music from global artists like Shakira, French Montana, and Soolking.

Click on webpage for the songs.

[zef-zef]

Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy - Caged in Aly's Body from: Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy - Kill Me or Negotiate (Brothers From Different Mother, 2020)

[alanbates]

thought about making a short post that includes some of my favourite north african and arabic musicians (so far) instead of writing down long ass ones about every single musician's story (I would recommend Ahmed Malek's short documentary made by Habibi Funk and this article that includes a very much honest interview with Rogér Fakhr though)

Ahmed Malek (Algeria)

Rogér Fahkr (Lebanon)

Dalton / Carthago (Tunisia)

Charif Megarbane (Lebanon)

Issam Hajali (Lebanon)

[burlveneer-music]

Deena Abdelwahed - Jbal Rrsas جبل الرصاص

A Tunisian producer and DJ, Deena Abdelwahed arrived in France at the age of 26 after earning her stripes on the Tunis scene. Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed’s upcoming album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what Arabic club music. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music all within the different frames that Arabic dance music can offer. Jbal Rrsas opens with the seductively apocalyptic opener, The Key to the Exit, a twisted Egyptian mahraganat. Deena builds off a traditional drum beat, and warps the track into a deconstructed landscape, with lilting synths and familiar Arabic rhythms. This instrumental track offers a taste of the album, a reimagining and experimentation on Arabic post-club music. All tracks composed, produced & mixed by Deena Abdelwahed All lyrics written and performed by Deena Abdelwahed and recorded at Lobster Prod Studios in Tunis, Tunisia by Malek Bouzouita Artwork by Niculin Barandun Photography by Yassine Meddeb Hamrouni