34 Tracks by Arab Artists That Embody Resistance

By: Fadila

Mid-June, Hamed Sinno wrote a heart wrenching facebook post that I think everyone should read, but one particular sentence has been gnawing at me since: “I was once deluded enough in my optimism that I honestly believed music could change the world.” In a time where everyone is in some sort of space where there is an intersection of violent institutions – be it white supremacy, colonialism, gender-based discrimination/violence, capitalism/classism, fascism, etc – it is very hard for us to remember what easy breaths of air were like before the acrid stench of death and oppression and blatant injustice if not outright war made home in our spaces. Y’all know, we’ve been expanding beyond Egypt because this is a time where we need to be together, not as ‘a nation’ but as a collective people who share the same struggles irrespective of our dialects, and tbh, fuck borders. Resistance, especially through art, is exhausting. Resistance artists do change the world, because they give us the hope we need to tell ourselves: “one more time, I can get up, just one last time”, every. damn. time. So, here’s a playlist of some tracks from all over the Arab region that have truly changed the world, in my humble opinion. My eternal gratitude to every activist and artist who continues to risk their life within or away from their homes, just to give us a sliver of hope in an otherwise bleak world.

1- Meen Bint Sgheere – Rasha Nahas