2025 Ranked
The 75 Best Arabic Songs of 2025
75 tracks that shaped Arab music in 2025, from soft mahraganat and indie pop to political rap and Moroccan grunge.
Exclusive
GFF Examined
The Screens Behind Smoke Screens at El Gouna Film Festival
What lies behind the polarized coverage of El Gouna Film Festival, beyond red carpet glamour and class critique?
God Approved Groove
These Songs Might Contain Music: The Rise of Halal Beats
Between pop and hip-hop, Sharia loopholes and sonic innovation – meet Halal Beat, the umbrella term for a new nasheed wave.
Cover Story
THE STRENGTH OF SOFTNESS: ALSARAH IS MAKING MUSIC FOR A BORDERLESS WORLD
Alsarah’s evolving artistry blends ancestral sound, diaspora politics, and a bold vision for a borderless musical future.
Blessed Pop
How Islam’s First Female Saint Inspired Rosalía’s ‘La Yugular’
How Rabia Al Adawiyya shaped the spiritual core of Rosalía’s ‘La Yugular,’ a track titled after a Qur’anic verse.
Zeitgeist Forecaster
15 Years Later, ‘Microphone’ Still Finds Its Voice in Egypt’s Youth
In 2010, Microphone foresaw Egypt’s revolution and a decade of cultural and social change. Is its prophecy still resonant today?
RS
The First Rolling Stone Rooftop and the Rebirth of Georgia’s Cultural Story
“Guests are a gift from God.” On my fifth night at the Tsinandali Estate, Elene Machavariani, the estate’s COO, offered…
Cover Story
40 Over 40: OVO’s Noah “40” Shebib On Lebanon, Grief, Palestine, And Collective Liberation
The genre-defining musician in conversation with multimedia artist Yassin “NARCY” Alsalman on rest, responsibility, and return.
Exclusive
Watermelon Pictures Wants To Be The Future Of Palestinian Representation In Hollywood
From “The Voice of Hind Rajab” to “The Encampments”, co-founders Hamza and Badie Ali are just getting started.
Exclusive
How Breakdancing Has Provided A Sanctuary For Children In Gaza
Breakdancing as trauma-informed dance has endured as artistic resistance from the Bronx to Gaza.
(Sub)Culture
For Many Lebanese, Music Colors Their Nostalgic National Memory
In times of national pride and turmoil, the Lebanese people have turned to the country’s artists and music to shape their national memory.
MUSIC
“We Would Never Want To Make Music Anywhere Else”: Alt Band Postcards On Beirut And Building Community
The longest-running alternative band currently playing in Lebanon talks about their shift in sonic exploration on their latest project.
