Tehrangeles Revisited
Neon Echoes in Exile: How Iran’s Diaspora Pop Thrived in Tehrangeles
Tehrangeles Vice traces how exiled Iranian musicians in 1980s LA transformed nostalgia, loss, and freedom into lasting pop culture.
FEATURES
Donkey > Habibi
Donkey Pop And The Labor of Listening
Salma Mousa takes aim at Donkey Pop, the latest trend of music meme-ification collapsing socio-cultural context into absentminded catchphrases.
Spotify Unwrapped
Spotify Unwrapped: On The Search for A Better Streaming Deal in MENA
As streaming becomes a catch-all for industry woes, Spotify MENAP looks for better terms with Arab artists on visibility, royalties, and AI.
Calm Before Storm
A Cornerstone of Arab Alternative: Houdou Nisbi by Ziad Rahbani Revisited
How Ziad Rahbani’s Houdou Nisbi blended jazz, satire, and Lebanese reality to lay the groundwork for Arab indie and alternative music.
Palestinian Princesshood
Amira Jazeera and The Politics of Just Making Pop
A self-proclaimed Pop Princess, Amira Jazeera places Palestine at the center of her life – though not necessarily her music.
Bar-by-Bar Breakdown
‘Youmi’ Dissected: A Breakdown of A West Bank Groundhog Day
On Fawzi, Shabjdeed and Al Nather’s “Youmi,” a song that turns routine into ritual, and repetition into resistance.
In Bad Taste
Why Column? Why Opinion? Why Bite?
Why cultural writing lost its bite, and why criticism with teeth still matters. Introducing Rolling Stone MENA’s new column: In Bad Taste.
Remembering Rim
Lullabies of Resistance: Remembering Rim Banna
Maram Khenissi remembers Rim Banna on her 59th birthday and celebrates her defiant legacy of sound, resistance and memory.
Popiano Takeover
Is Popiano the Next African Wave? Ask Tyla
Exploring Tyla’s popiano wave – the Southern African sound transforming global pop – as she makes her Bahrain live debut.
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.
PREMIERE
PREMIERE: Bahjat Turns Backlash Into A-pop Banger on ‘Maybe I’m the Villain’
Libyan A-pop innovator Bahjat turns recent critiques into fuel for his new banger, “Maybe I’m the Villain.”
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.
