Music

Soroush Lashkari, better known with his nickname, Hichkas (No one), is an Iranian rapper. His lyrics are about society, poverty and resistance against foreigners. He is an underground well-known artist inside Iran.
After 2009 post-election riots in Iran, he sang a song called “a good day comes”. I heard it yesterday and liked to share it [...]

Mideast Youth has proudly launched Mideast Tunes this morning – in other words, music for social change!
Music is a powerful form of expression and is currently underrated, although it can be used in activism. Meanwhile, Free speech can be magnified through music. And this is exactly what inspired us with Mideast Tunes.
Mideast Tunes, which comes [...]

Originally published at PalestineNote.Com

A few days ago, I posted one of Al-Thawra’s songs, “Gaza: Choking on the Smoke of Dreams,” on the Internet for free download. We wrote the song the day after the Israeli bombing started on December 27th, 2008, and we intended it as a commentary on the sheer human tragedy of the [...]

We’re starting off the year with a new podcast, and this time with Marwan Kamel, lead singer of the punk Middle Eastern band “Al Thawra.” I could try my luck writing my own introduction of this awesome band, but I wouldn’t be able to top my friend Daniela who wrote about them on Mideast Youth [...]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Meklit Hadero, an Ethiopian-born musician and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow, sings a very moving song in support of Kareem:

Thank you so much Meklit! If you’re on Twitter, please take a moment to send a personal shout out to Meklit @meklithadero for joining the struggle to free Kareem Amer.

Kurdish Festival is a celebration of Kurdish Heritage in the United States. The festival will stretch a span of three days. During which, Kurds and non-Kurds, from a variety of backgrounds and across the U.S. will gather in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival will take place during the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on [...]

This is Damascus… If you want to play punk, you need to really want to. The hand of politics is everywhere. Both US foreign policy and domestic law can make or break your band: trade embargoes determine whether or not you can get equipment and censors make it difficult to speak about any real issues. While the suffocating restrictions and obstacles are annoying, the fact that the punks exist is a testament to their perseverance.

Arian Band, is the most successful and popular pop band in Iran. They have released four successful studio albums and are highly valued in Iran. Lately they’ve donated parts of their profit to “United Nations World Food Programme“. They’ve also released a related video clip.
Watch the video clip:
You can also download the song here, and [...]

Shahin Najafi, an influential Iranian rapper has released his first solo album “Illusion”. He is the most prominent Persian protesting rapper. His main lyrical topics are society, politics and religion. According to Wikipedia, he studied sociology in university but failed to obtain a degree, because he felt that he learns more from society than classrooms. [...]

“Oy” which means ouch, is the name of third studio album by Iranian controversial musician, Mohsen Namjoo. In his new released album he sings “Shams” song once again.
“In 2006 he was sentenced in absentia to a five-year jail term for allegedly ridiculing the ash-Shams, a sura of Quran in the song named “Shams” by Iranian [...]