Ustad Noor Bakhsh
Sayida Ansari, The Guardian, ‘Totally full of spiritual energy’: Ustad Noor Bakhsh, the Pakistani musician going global in his 70s, 19 July 2023 “In clips of sunset jams near...
Hip-hop Egypt
Internet subtext to this interesting long read by Yasmine El Rashidi, The Guardian, How hip-hop fuelled Egypt’s rebellion. “The events of 2011 had been the impetus for millions of...
Toomaj Salehi
Reuters, Iranian rapper to be jailed for six years, avoiding death sentence – lawyer, 10 July 2023 “Well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who supported the protest movement that sprang...
Mutlu Kaya
Gemma Peplow, Sky News, The bullet in my brain: Singer Mutlu Kaya was shot in the head, but survived. Now, she has found a new voice on TikTok, 28...
Aleppo Electro
Al Jazeera, The Aleppo electronic artists using music to heal in Gaziantep, 26 May 2023 “Electronic music artists who fled the war in Syria recreate Aleppo’s nightlife as a...
Rahmatun Lil’Alameen
Mumtaz Hussain Bhat, Siasat Daily, Maher Zain’s heartfelt Naat takes internet by storm in Ramzan, 8 Apr 2023 “The Naat-e-Sharief has garnered more than 79 million views on YouTube within 10...
Palestinian DJs
Mixmag, 6 Palestinian DJs You Need To Know, 4 Apr 2023 “Mixmag speaks to six pioneering Palestinian artists about their musical journey, the challenges they face every day and the...
Tunisia – Rap Battle
AFP/Arab News, Rap battle — young Tunisians fight stigma with the arts, 17 March 2023 “People … experience violence on a daily basis — some practice it and others...
Syria, Lebanon and Rap
Houda Fansa Jawadi, gal-dem, How protest and resistance in Syria and Lebanon shaped a progressive rap scene, 15 March 2023. Interesting long-read. “… rap has become one of the...
Hijabi ‘indie mothers’
Agnes Anya, AFP/Yahoo News, Hijabi ‘indie mothers’ embraced by young Indonesian music fans There’s a social media/YouTube link to this article about long-standing group Nasida Ria and their youthful...