Rolling Stone MENA - Music, Film, TV and Political News Coverage

Playing Both Sides

TUL8TE Meets the Pop Machine Halfway on Sadeek El Bernameg

TUL8TE spends Sadeek El Bernameg making the uneasy argument that hit-making and artistic integrity don’t have to be at odds.

By Ammar Manla Hasan

Tough Love

Tough Love: Shabjdeed, Saint Levant, and Rejecting the Perfect Victim

Shabjdeed’s Saint Levant diss exposes the pressure on Palestinians to remain legible and dignified “perfect victims.”

By Othman Shahin

Qatar

The Venture Capital Firm That Saw Qatar’s Future First

For much of the past decade, Qatar’s economic story has been told through projects that transformed skylines and captured global…

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Case Study

INSEAD, The ‘Business School for the World’ is Facing a Reckoning Over Gaza

INSEAD alumni and students demand divestment and accountability over Gaza, challenging the elite business school’s silence.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Diasporic Gaze

The Diasporic Gaze: Aesthetics of a Remigrating Egyptian Identity

As more Egyptians born and raised abroad move back home, they carry with them a diasporic gaze that’s easy to detect and hard to ignore.

By Amuna Wagner

Who's Laughing Now?

The Arab Comedians Reshaping Paris’s Stand-Up Scene

By Youssr Youssef

A Closer Lens

A Closer Way of Seeing The Yazidis

By Ahmed Amin

MUSIC

The Killer Dueling Pianos Brings Rock Star Energy to Live Events

One might not typically expect to find rock stars performing at a dueling piano show. Yet Ryan Bueter and Donny…

By Chris Gallagher

Butterfly Effect

Five Years After Her Debut, Inez Drops Sophomore Album Farasha

Five years after her debut, Inez returns with Farasha, an ambitious album embracing Arab sounds and emotional vulnerability.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Gateway Pop

Michael Hakim on Diaspora Pop as a Gateway to Arabic Music

Michael Hakim isn’t seeking validation from the Arab world. He’s building AR&B, a new sound shaped by the Arab diaspora’s hybrid identity.

By Sumayya Tobah

The Ambassador's Dilemma

Arab Diasporic Music and The Uneasy Performance of Home

Under the weight of representation and identity politics, Salma Mousa examines the Arab diaspora’s longing for a home that doesn’t exist.

By Salma Mousa

Hard-Earned Debut

Mouka Drops ‘Soumi Ghali’ Ahead of Debut Album Release

Tunisian rapper Mouka drops “Soumi Ghali” ahead of his debut album Loyalty, arriving June 19 after five years of viral hits.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

A Syrian Nuremberg

Bashar and Maher Al Assad Sentenced to Death in Absentia

Bashar and Maher Al Assad have been sentenced to death in absentia by a Damascus court for crimes committed under the Assad regime.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Timeline

The Only Constant of the Iran War Is Trump Saying It’s About to End

An incomplete timeline of the president’s months-long insistence that the conflict is almost over.

By Jack Crosbie Nikki McCann Ramirez and Ryan Bort

Bypassing Hormuz

The UAE’s Hormuz-Bypassing Pipeline Is Half Done, Due in 2027

The UAE is halfway through building a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, with plans to double crude exports by 2027.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Open Wound

Syria Arrests Tadamon Massacre Identified Perpetrator Amjad Youssef

More than a decade after the Tadamon massacre, Syrian authorities say Amjad Youssef, long linked to the killings, is now in custody.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Hormuz, Reopened

Iran Reopens The Strait of Horumuz

Following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Iran announced on Friday the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Youtube to Netflix

AlKhalat+: Saudi Absurdist Comedy’s Journey from YouTube to Netflix

Over the past few years, a wave of Saudi absurdist comedy has been migrating from YouTube to streaming. AlKhalat+ is its latest dispatch.

By Youssef Ali

Youtube to Netflix

الخلاط+: آخر محطة في رحلة الكوميديا الغرائبية السعودية من يوتيوب إلى نتفلكس

خلال السنوات الأخيرة، بدأ تيّار من الكوميديا الغرائبية السعودية بمغادرة موطنه على يوتيوب باتجاه منصات البث، الخلاط+ آخر إصدارات هذا التيار.

By Youssef Ali

Too Dumb To Fail

Too Dumb to Fail: The Game and the TikTok-ification of Arab TV

The smartest move in Arab TV’s recent history was to go completely dumb. Five seasons in, The Game is still proving it right.

By Ammar Manla Hasan

Binge Therapy

Binge Therapy: 24 Titles to Stream in MENA This April

Rolling Stone MENA’s monthly streaming guide to the films, TV series, and documentaries available across platforms in the MENA region.

By Yasmina Bitar

Hustlers & High Ratings

Heroes, Hustlers, and High Ratings: The Mohamed Samy Era of Egyptian TV

A look back at fifteen years of Mohamed Samy’s directing during the most prolific production era in Egyptian television.

By Youssef Ali

Love It, Set It Free

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi: If You Love a Collection, Set It Free

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi sees himself as an art custodian, not an owner, and believes sharing Arab art is the best way to protect it.

By Sydney Miranda

(Sub)Culture

Alessio Vinassa Doesn’t Believe Pressure Builds Character. He Believes It Reveals It.

Success has a way of creating certainty. When business is growing, opportunities multiply, headlines become more flattering and confidence begins…

By Jenna Amy

(Sub)Culture

Luxury Is Bored. One Woman Is Breaking the Rules That Matter.

Luxury has never been more accessible. And yet, it has rarely felt more distant. The present moment is characterized by…

By Matthew Kayser

(Sub)Culture

Who Is ANASTACYA? Inside the World of the Artist, Entrepreneur, and International Creative

ANASTACYA’s career doesn’t follow a single industry path. It spans visual art, entrepreneurship, media appearances, and brand collaborations across multiple…

By Chris Gallagher

Arabic-ish

Arabic-ish: The Strange Grief of Half-Speaking Your Mother Tongue

An intimate essay on the strange grief of understanding your mother tongue, but never feeling fluent enough to truly call it your own.

By Yasmina Bitar

TECH

How an AI Startup Co-Founded by a Formula 1 Driver Hit $9M ARR in Just 8 Weeks

Jack Doohan has always been used to life in the fastest of lanes. Speed has been the factor that has…

By Anthony Burr

TECH

Live Auction Shopping is Pulling Online Buying Into Real Time

Timed bidding and limited windows are changing how purchases unfold Online shopping doesn’t always happen in a straight line anymore.…

By Ethan Stone

TECH

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum’s Nawa Technologies Aim to Export UAE’s Digital Governance Model

The Dubai-based holding company is fostering partnerships with tech to leverage proof of concept for Gulf state capacity-building in frontier…

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

The Ibtihal Effect

Microsoft Restructures Israel Operations Amid Military Use Allegations

Microsoft places Israel unit under French oversight amid investigation into Azure-linked military use against Palestinians.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Q-Day Apocalypse

Could Bitcoin Go to Zero? Something Happened Yesterday Says: Maybe

Bitcoin faces a growing quantum threat that could test its security, governance model, and long-term dominance.

By Ammar Manla Hasan

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