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

Mapping Farasha

Inez’s Farasha Is and Isn’t a Passport Album

With Farasha, Inez moves across genres and borders. She tells us why the album’s Passport approach was never a calculated strategy.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Inglorious Screens

Inglorious Screens: Digital Culture Is Sara Sadik’s Mother Tongue

Sara Sadik spent years collecting what the internet throws away: the 2am comment, the GTA clip. Now the art world is paying attention.

By Arnaud Pessey

Loving Rituals

In Memory of Sliman Mansour: Without Love, There Is No Belonging

Othman Shahin bids farewell to Sliman Mansour by revisiting the works that shaped how generations of Palestinians saw their homeland.

By Othman Shahin

The Waiting Sentence

The Waiting Sentence: Four Stories from the UK’s Asylum System

The UK asylum system keeps young people waiting for papers, work, school, and a future. These four refused to let waiting become their life.

By Yasmina Bitar

La Casa De Mahraganat

How New-School Mahraganat Pulled Off the Great Streaming Heist

Youssef Ali examines how mahraganat’s relentless output is reshaping streaming charts and challenging Arab pop’s dominance.

By Youssef Ali

Cult Classic

Maha’s Orkos: The Lost Record That Took Four Decades to Find Its Time

By Ahmed Amin

Diasporic Gaze

The Diasporic Gaze: Aesthetics of a Remigrating Egyptian Identity

By Amuna Wagner

A Loaded Kiss

Elyanna Drops the Progressive, Stadium-Pop Single ‘BOSA’

Elyanna flips Arab pop gender roles on “BOSA,” a RedOne-produced stadium-pop single inspired by Y2K pan-American pop.

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

نظرية السطو الكبير

كيف نفّذت مهرجانات النيو سكول سطوها العظيم على قوائم الاستماع

يبحث يوسف علي كيف تعيد إصدارات المهرجانات الكثيفة تشكيل قوائم الاستماعات في المنطقة وتتحدى هيمنة البوب العربي.

By Youssef Ali

Second Act

Ba3d El Leil Is Sharnouby’s Hard-Earned Second Act

After a divorce sent him on a journey of growth and self-discovery, Sharnouby takes creative control of his comeback album, Ba3d El Leil.

By Ammar Manla Hasan

No Miracle

Wegz Navigates Love and Mixed Signals on “El Ayah”

Wegz explores infatuation, mixed signals, and emotional uncertainty on his new R&B single “El Ayah.”

By Rolling Stone MENA Staff

Mourning Ruins

Cairokee’s Supernova Is the Perfect Album for a Lost Generation

Cairokee’s Supernova documents post-Arab Spring defeat with discomforting precision. Whether it’s a good album is another question.

By Ammar Manla Hasan

Family Reunification

Abdi Declares the SDF Integration Into the Syrian State Complete

The SDF has completed its integration into Syria’s state institutions, a major step toward a unified Syria.

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

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

A Closer Lens

A Closer Way of Seeing The Yazidis

After years of trust-building among the Yazidis, photojournalist Emily Garthwaite documents their long journey home after genocide and war.

By Ahmed Amin

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

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

Appropriately Appropriated

In Defense of Celebrities Wearing Ancient Iranian Symbols

From IShowSpeed to Johnny Depp, the farvahar keeps appearing in pop culture. Is it appropriation or appreciation?

By Joobin Bekhrad

(Sub)Culture

Musly Club connects Muslim founders, creatives, and cultural tastemakers worldwide

Forget, for a moment, everything you imagine when you think of a private members’ club, and meet Musly Club, the…

By Ethan Stone

(diss)Course Analysis

(diss)Course Analysis: Diss Tracks as Cultural Reckoning

Salma Moussa argues the diss track’s best case is a demand for accountability within a community of trust.

By Salma Mousa

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

TECH

How Kris Ress Developed His Approach to Technology and Entrepreneurship

Some of the most expensive lessons in technology come from being wrong. Others come from being right too early. Kris…

By Jenna Amy

TECH

The Future of AI in Business: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming the Workplace

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it has become one of the most transformative technologies shaping the…

By Jenna Amy

TECH

The Story of Tag Markets: From a 2023 Launch to a Global Forex Brokerage

Every global company begins with a decision about what it believes the market has accepted for too long. For Tag…

By Jenna Amy

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

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