20 Arab Female Artists To Look Out For !!

I've always been vocal about showing love and support to Arab Female Artists, so I just wanted to compile few artists that I believe you need to look out for, below is the list:-
** feel free to share with me few names @ thebeatdxb@gmail.com

Shébani, Reem Ekay, Fafa & Ghaliaa

• Shébani: This Iraqi Dubai Based Singer/Songwriter is a hard worker. Her song-writing skills is something that I totally respect. In Aug '16, she released her first EP entitled "Alter Ego" produced by RAYAN, and then she started releasing singles & collaborations with few artists in the UAE. She's truly unique and has a great vibe about her.

• Reem Ekay: Architect, Singer/Songwriter based in Dubai. R&B vibes with some incredible songwriting. She released her first EP in Dec 2018 produced by AY. She mainly performs in English and I hope someday I see her on a "Sudanese themed" beat because she will kill that..

 

• FAFA: Emirati Singer/Songwriter. Soul/R&B are her vibes. Her strongest qualities are her powerful voice and stage presence. Fafa will pull you in her world. Her live performance is something you wouldn't want to miss. She just dropped her first original song entitled "Running (Can't Stope Me)" and one can see that she's born to do this! We need more singles from this one this year!

• GHALIAA: The first time I heard Ghaliaa, I had goosebumps.. Syrian Singer/Songwriter. What I love about her is that she was able to fight stereotypes by using the fact that she's veiled as a source of inspiration for other women. She has released few singles and is on a mission to release an EP very soon. She plays the Guitar, The Oud, Keyboard and performs in English, French & Arabic. 

Mougleta, TamTam, Dounia, ROTANA

• MOUGLETA: Lebanese Singer/Songwriter and simply incredible performer. Her voice is truly unique and at a very young age, she was able to capture the hearts of so many that have heard her. She's currently in Germany pursuing music professionally and I expect big things from her in 2019!

• TAMTAM: Saudi Singer, based in LA (USA). She has one EP & one full album under her belt. She uses her music to also discuss few social topics which I totally respect. 

• DOUNIA: Moroccan - American artist. She's signed to EMPIRE which is an American distribution company and record label founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. Catch a vibe with Dounia, I personally would love to hear more "Moroccan Themed" instrumentals with her voice on those records! She Dope!

• ROTANA: Saudi Artist based in the USA. She's vocal about women empowerment and always fighting stereotypes through her music because of perceptions some people might have about Saudi women. Would love to see more work from ROTANA this year and also a collaboration with an Arab Hip-Hop Artist!  

Tina Yamout, MANAL, ABIR & Dina El Wedidi 

• TINA YAMOUT: Lebanese Singer/Songwriter. Tina has succeeded in paving her own way through the Lebanese Music scene and finding her own voice without confirming to your typical "mainstream" melodies. She's bilingual (English & Arabic), but currently she's focusing on Arabic lyrics. I vibe with Tina and I wish her the best, she's humble and has a vision to reach high places. 

• MANAL : Defies misogyny in every aspect. This Moroccan Singer/Songwriter has taken the MENA region by storm with her fierce yet simply lyrics. Her videos showcase the true talent and vibe of where she comes from. She's truly passionate. She's signed to SONY Music. she embodies the future of women in her country by inspiring them and encouraging them to believe in themselves. Her releases so far has been in Arabic & French!

• ABIR : Moroccan Artist based in USA. I feel the two next years will be huge for her. I am looking forward for her to include more Arabic influencers in her music weather its the beats, the vibe, the culture. Check out her vibe!!

• DINA EL-WEDIDI : Egyptian Singer. She is what I call the voice! her vocal chords are incredible. There is this one song of her when she performed on "Bassem Yousef's Show", called "El Haram" - that automatically made me a fan. I feel she blends the Egyptian Authentic culture with the modern vibes 

Gaidaa, Hana Malhas, Yasmine Hamdan & Lolo Zouaï

• GAIDAA : Sudanese Singer. She's based in Holland. You will quickly be drawn to her vibe. I can't wait to see what she has for us in 2019. 

• HANA MALHAS : Singer-songwriter from Jordan. Her vibe is electro-acoustic pop. She is also the founder of a series called "Bala Feesh" which is a series of events aimed to support artists by having them perform LIVE. 

• Yasmine Hamdan : Lebanese singer, songwriter and actress, now based in Paris. She became known with Soapkills, the duo she founded with Zeid Hamdan while she was still living in Beirut, Lebanon. She's an OG of the underground/indie movement in Arabia. She's someone who was able to change misconception about the Arab region because she gets a lot of gigs in Europe and people are always drawn to her music & performance. Her live performance is NOT TO BE MISSED! She performs mainly in Arabic.

• Lolo Zouaï : Algerian-French. I recently discovered her and want to get to know her music but she drew me in with her below song. I believe she uses her music to deliver a message and even though its R&B, I don't think all of it is all about love. I personally want to see her also reflect on her Algerian/Arab background. That would be so cool to see with her kind of talent !

Malak El Husseiny, Rosegold, Emaan Zadjali & Lea Makhoul 

• Malak El Husseiny  : Egyptian Based Singer/Songwriter who is just driven by art. I hope we see more original music from her as I think that her music is untapped and just waiting to be discovered even more. 

• Rosegold  : When I first found out about Palestinian-Canadian producer Rosegold, I was extremely happy to see a female music producer from the region. I then discovered that she also has a great voice which for me is also incredible and its a no-brainer not to feature talent like that on Re-Volt. Check her out here in a collaboration with MVRS. 

• Emaan Zadjali  : Omani/American Singer/Songwriter. Her vibe is a contemporary R&B sound, as well as some new age funk. I look forward to more music in 2019 !

• Lea Makhoul  : Lebanese/French Singer that carries out feel-good pop music, sweet personality. I believe she's still searching for her sound and with the help of Universal MENA, I believe she will be able to accomplish that.

Honorary Mentions:

Jana Diab 

• Jana Diab: She is the daughter of legendary Egyptian Singer Amr Diab. Her voice is truly out of this world and leaves me wondering what the future could hold for this sensation. Below is an original, I hope she drops more very soon. She's so so good! 

Big Hass Interviews Emirati Singer Rashed Al-Nuaimi

Rashed Al Nuaimi 

I am always trying to give a voice to artists and I pride myself that I been doing this since 2008. Its simply a liberating feeling for me when I reach out to artists who are not getting enough "exposure" to feature on my blog just as a sign of solidarity and support. Today's guest is Emirati singer Rashed Al Nuaimi  whom I first stumbled on via his instagram account and this song:-

Can't help falling in love / رهيب

A post shared by RÃN - رآن (@r__a__n) on Oct 14, 2016 at 11:41am PDT

I became a fan and I wanted to show support. I salute this brother and wish him nothing but the best. The interview has been done a month ago and I thank him for his time. Have a nice read & show love to him.

Big Hass: What's up brother?
Rashed Al Nuaimi: Thank you for having me brother.


BH : Your passion for singing shows. How did that passion start?
RAN: There's no real way to answer this question..I like it ever since I was a kid, it was just something I always did; but I can definitely tell you when the transition happened between becoming something I'd do in the shower to something that I might make a career of.
It was not until I went to university and i joined my first vocal lesson class and I tapped into the "opera classical" type venue and I had my first recital at the end of the semester. I remember inviting my family to attend and they were all shocked although they knew I sing, but not to this extent..So i guess that course I took in university was the transition..I felt this could be something bigger..


BH: Do you remember the first track you ever heard?
RAN: "Laugh" Can you ever know the first track? but i can probably say the first favorite song was for "Whiteny Housten" who was a big inspiration as a kid, it was weird because I wouldn't find anyone my age listening to it. She was the reason why I would label myself as "Powerhouse" vocalist maybe. My housekeeper who was Ethiopian is the one who introduced me to Whitney Housten. 


BH: You just finished/finishing the military service for the UAE. Salute on that. How do you feel and what has this experience meant to you?

RAN: I haven't finished yet; for me I serve my country in various ways, I dont label whatever I do with the army as extremely different, Either I serve it with my music, my day job and with literary just living here.  Whatever I do with the military is just adding to that whole journey of giving back an unmeasurable debt that I have to my country for giving me everything. It's something that I pride myself on alongside the other things that I do..My music is also a big part of that "giving back". 

BH: Do you believe the UAE has a solid foundation in supporting their Local Artists?

RAN: Step by step. It's not fully formed yet, but its being created as we speak. We are kinda of setting a pedestal for the ones who would come after us. It's hard but its happening and we are creating it.


BH: Tell us about your participation at the Emerging Talent Competition that took place last year? how was that for you?

RAN: That was the biggest crowd I ever performed for. I thought I'd be nervous but surprisingly I was very comfortable. I love watching the reactions of people, I felt everything in its details. I saw facial expressions, I actually felt what the weather was like, how the "dishdasha" was moving in the wind. I also got to meet amazing local artists and interacting with them, getting to know their stories.

BH: Have you released any original material? and would you be interested in working with local/regional producers?

RAN:It's time for me to release original material. I been doing covers for quite sometime and gotten a name for it. I am definitely working on that. YES! of course, I would love to collabo, either I am doing a horrible job at finding them or they are doing an amazing job at hiding (lol) , if you know any, please direct me to them.

** This interview was done about a month ago and ever since Rashed collaborated with Egyptian producer Moseqar in an awesome track/cover - check it out




BH: How important is the support of the family?
RAN: Extremely important. I know a lot of people might not get it, I understand the value of having it. Sometimes you have to work against their wishes but I definitely believe that family's support will create a more stable road and it will also create a stamina that you need.

BH: What can we find on Rashed's MP3 player?
RAN: Mainly its Adele, Sam Smith, Whitney Housten. I also been listening to Mura Masa and John Bellion.

BH: Name few local artists you love listening to?
RAN: I been really digging Rotana Tarabzouni's "Daddy" , "Dancing Shoes" by Mougleta and also the Omani Artist "Ghazi Al Balushi"

BH: Do you believe Radio Play is as important as before?

RAN: I guess it depends where you want to reach with your music, what's your definition of success and how much do you follow "mainstream/commercial" music. I definitely am a radio listener but I also can point out that the radio is not a "definitive" result of success, big part of it is marketing and feeding a commercial need, but i think its an outlet that somehow spreads your music. I would love my message to go through but also it would not affect me negatively if it did not because I believe in my message. Its an important tool, I hope it gets used in the right way to support the right people, to push the right content.. You can not deny that hearing your songs on the radio wont give you butterflies.. that's a fact :)

BH: What's coming up for you in 2017?
RAN: Well, military for the remainder of 2017. Hopefully 2018 will be my year ;)

BH: What's your dream?
RAN:As cliche as it sounds, as many times you've heard it on Hallmark postcards..it is honestly to be happy. With music or without music, but I do believe that music for me is the road to reach my dream

BH: Any last words or shout outs?
RAN: Believe in yourself. Be Yourself and criticize yourself in a positive and healthy way. Always strive to be your own.


Thanks for your time Hass!