ABIR, BLOSSOMS WITH “INFERNO”

ABIR (pic provided by Abir's Team)

Moroccan-American vocal powerhouse, ABIR makes a bold statement with her new single “Inferno”, along with a stunning visual that was filmed on location in a desert in Marrakesh. 

“Inferno” celebrates ABIR’s Moroccan roots, while director, Sharif Abdel Mawla, perfectly captures the essence of the “modern Arab woman”, ABIR self-proclaims to be. 

“Inferno” marks the first single from ABIR’s forthcoming EP, HEAT, slated for a late summer release. 

With its kinetic beat and lush string arrangement, the track serves as a potent introduction to the EP’s message of finding strength through self-celebration. “I’m a lot of things a Muslim Arab woman isn’t expected to be,” notes ABIR. 

“What she looks like, what she does, how she acts, how she feels, what she wants . . . The current narrative is uninformed and it’s honestly fucking boring.” 

HEAT sees ABIR infusing modern pop/R&B with the extraordinary sounds of her native Morocco, bridging her two worlds for reasons that extend far beyond simply music. Created in partnership with 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominee Mick Schultz (Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson), the EP is rich with lavish string work, complex rhythms, and commanding melodies, often sculpted with traditional North African instruments. Songs like “Inferno” are gorgeously textured and uniquely powerful, expertly spotlighting the NYC-based artist’s hypnotic vocal presence and intensely personal songcraft. 

ABIR has spent much of the past two years expanding her already-significant knowledge of Moroccan music, notably studying the Arabic scale to better integrate it into her own idiosyncratic take on pop and R&B. 

HEAT represents the culmination of years of growth and self-discovery for ABIR, a remarkable journey that extends to a blossoming new connection with the meaning of her name, an Arabic word (عبير) that translates as “fragrance of a flower.” 

“So many things I’ve always talked about doing, I finally got to do with this project,” ABIR says. “I’m so comfortable in my skin, and I just want to share what I represent and what my culture is. I know that we have so much to offer the world, and I’m not afraid to get loud about it.”

Show Love, Show Support

Watch Abir's Video below 

Mesh Hastanna : Where Rap & Illustration Fight for Equality!

Still Frame from "Mesh Hastanna" - Provided by Rama

On June 26th, 2020, Musawah which is the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim Family, launched a campaign that advocates to reform systems that oppress Muslim women and fights for equality and justice for all. 

With Egyptian Rapper Felukah on the mic & Syrian illustrator Rama on the Animation, the result is "Mesh Hastanna" which means " I Wont Wait" and it's a track that fights for equality...

I fell in love with the track, the music (that is actually produced by Felukah's brother Malik Elmessiry), the animation...

I had the honor to ask Musawah, Felukah and Rama few questions about song/campaign, please find the answers below and show love:-


Musawah: 

re-volt: Thank you for doing this. What inspired you to tackle this issue using rap and illustration? 

Musawah: We have been  advocating for equality and justice in Muslim families since 2009. This year, we launched the Campaign for Justice in Muslim Family Laws, bringing together activists, scholars, policy makers and civil society to advocate for the reform of discriminatory family laws and practices in Muslim contexts. 

As a knowledge-building movement, we have produced a lot of materials aimed at family law reform, but this Mesh Hastanna project was the first time we used rap and illustration together. 

It was a learning sprint of sorts, to turn our usual work on its head and come at it from a different angle—of culture, song and illustration—and reach new audiences, particularly young people 
who are engaged and mobilized to change our world for the better. 

We were introduced to Felukah through one of our national Advocates; she was passionate about the project from the get-go, Felukah in turn was a fan of Rama's on Instagram, and so it all came together quite naturally into what you see today!  

re-volt : In what way you think projects like these are needed to start changing minds? 

Musawah: The importance of projects like Mesh Hastanna, and artivism in general, is to inspire people to envision other ways of being and doing. As activists fighting for family law reform, we are coming up against centuries of patriarchal thinking and power structures that don't live up to the trajectory of justice in the Qur'an. 

The DNA of patriarchy is ingrained into our societies and families, and dismantling it can be arduous, long-term work, in part because it tackles sensitive issues of identity, religion, politics, power. 

But it's not enough to point out how our systems are broken; we have to make spaces and spark conversations to imagine alternatives. So we have to show women's stories in ways that resonate on a deeper level than facts, and that help us to change the discriminatory laws that govern our lives. 

Art, music, poetry, and culture give us other lenses through which to understand each other and the realities we deal with in our daily lives, which is especially crucial for making visible people on the margins and making heard voices previously silenced.

re-volt: it’s been 3 days since the project dropped, how’s the feedback from the public? 

Musawah: The feedback has been phenomenal! People have been playing the video on repeat, wanting to translate the lyrics into local languages, asking for the song as their ringtone and the illustrations as their wallpaper. 

The overwhelmingly positive responses show that this collaboration between Felukah, Malik El Messiry, Rama Duwaji and Musawah has tapped into a truth about gender injustice that resonates with people. 
It's a testament to the insightful and fantastic work these young artists have put into making this moving video together, and to the necessity of reforming Muslim laws and practices that discriminate against women and girls. 

Rama

re-volt: What was your initial thoughts when you first were approached to work on this project? 

Rama: When Musawah first approached me I was really enthusiastic about their campaign because they represent everything I stand for in terms of raising awareness about taboo issues in our communities and challenging the ideals that we have taken to be as norm in order to create new systems that work with Muslim women, not against them. 
I was also a little nervous because this was my first time doing a full length animation, but excitement took over nerves and it was a great challenge! I think the amazing vocals of Felukah really made it come to life.

re-volt: How did the illustration come to life, how long did it take you to complete it?

Rama: The animation is 2,500+ frames long and took me about a month and a half to finish the project, storyboard and all. 

Frame by frame animation can be a super time consuming method, lots of people prefer to animate using programs like Adobe After Effects, but to me, the hand made feeling that the frame by frame method creates gives the animation more character and life, so it was worth the labor. 
After listening to the song, I pitched the main storyboard to the team, they helped refine it and from there on out it was just about getting the work done, one scene at a time.

re-volt: In What Way You Think this campaign can make a change?

Rama: I think music and visual arts can each be so impactful and attention grabbing in raising awareness about important issues, so when they come together and intersect in the way that they do in the Mesh Hastanna project, hopefully it’ll create an open dialogue about Muslim women’s rights and shift how people see the outdated cultural norms in our communities.

It’s also really important to me that the project is primarily in Arabic, and Felukah did an amazing job in expressing the issues of the campaign all while rapping and singing it beautifully. 

I’m always in favor of making more content in Arabic because it never feels like there’s enough, and because I’m always cautious about making work that panders to western audiences, when the focus should be on our own communities. 

There are of course English subtitles and (hopefully) a universal visual language because the obvious matter of the fact is, not all Muslims speak Arabic and vice versa, so in addition to the English translations, I added familiar cues in the animation in order to be accessible and speak to not only a wider Muslim community but also everyone else.

Felukah

re-volt: When Musawah reached out to you and told you about the project, what were your initial thoughts?

Felukah: Initially when Musawah reached out to me and told me about the project, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to assist them, or I wasn’t sure I was the “right person” for this. 

The cause hit home, being that I am a Muslim woman myself who grew up witnessing countless injustices to the women around me and learning about the corrupt paradigm we operate in. 

I spoke to my mother who strongly encouraged me to challenge myself and write the song for the campaign— the minute I put myself in the headspace of urgency, calling for change and recollecting the experiences I (and those around me) went through, the lyrics started pouring out. My brother Malik Elmessiry caught the vibe and produced the music for this song.

re-volt: Thank you for using your talent to discuss such a topic. How long did it take you to write the song?

Felukah: I wrote the first draft of this song over the course of two nights, but I’ve been meticulously editing and redrafting the lyrics for precision in Arabic and accurate translations in English, for about three months now. It’s been a largely collaborative effort, the entire execution of this project.

re-volt: In your opinion, how much work needs to be on equality in the Middle-East?

Felukah: So much work needs to be done on equality in the Middle East.. I stand by the notion that revolution begins at home and then extends to the streets, the institutions, and finally can change policy. We need to work on our own wiring, as innovative thinkers, artists, or conscious members of any society that desperately needs change. Once our perspective has changed and we’ve come to view social issues as urgent opportunities to build culture, we develop a closeness with the cause we’re fighting for and wind up seeing it through. That is the aim, in my eyes at least.


re-volt: The song addresses the issue and also addresses the fact that a problem like this wont work itself out.. In Your opinion and as the writer for he song, I believe you already contributed to more awareness on this issue, but as felukah, what are the steps needed on ground beyond music to eradicate such mentality?

Felukah: That’s a good question. I definitely don’t think these deep-rooted issues in Muslim societies will just magically fix themselves, and I also recognize that it’ll take the combined, collaborative effort of everyone involved (and even everyone *not* involved) to speak up and create enough momentum to instigate real reform. 

Looking beyond music, what this entails is internalizing ideas of assertiveness and confidence in women, highlighting the efforts of men who are supporting the deconstruction of corrupt institutions/ideals, and emphasizing the importance of community building and solidarity. The more we can empathize and learn to see each other fully, the more this reliability will carry over to other facets of life and move us (collectively) to pursue the ongoing fight for equality.

Watch the full video below and stream it on Music Platforms, 
let the voice and actions of this campaign reach, push it, be LOUD about when you do so...

Super salute and love to Felukah, Rama, Malik and of course Musawah for putting this together. I am truly inspired..

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Musawah (@musawahmovement) on Jun 26, 2020 at 7:03am PDT

Musawah is the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. Since launching in 2009 in Malaysia, Musawah has built a knowledge-based global movement, bringing together activists, policy makers and scholars to challenge the ways Islam is used to justify discriminations against women in law and practice, and to offer a rights-based discourse and framework to advocate for equality and justice for women and marginalised groups living in Muslim contexts.
For more information on the Campaign for Justice and to join our campaign, visit www.musawah.org/campaign-for-justice. 

Moroccan Pop Artist "MANAL" releases "TAJ" // A woman empowerment track

MANAL

Born in 1993 in Casablanca, Morocco, Manal started singing at the age of 6. In 2015 Manal released her debut single ‘Denia’, a song she had written and composed. This song also got her the ‘Best Female Artist North Africa’ AFRIMA Awards that year. In 2016 Manal signed a management deal with ‘RPEG Ltd’ founded by Wu-Tang Clan artist and producer Cilvaringz. 
In April 2017 Manal released her second single ‘Koulchi Ban’ and in October 2017 signed a multi-year recording and representation contract with Sony Music Entertainment Middle East.

She just released the video for her new track "Taj" which means "Crown". Its so dope to see a young Arab female artist addressing & pushing women empowerment via her songs. Enjoy the video, watch it & share it.

Q&A with Manal will be on Re-Volt very soon! Stay Tuned!

Q&A with Amal Murad | A Pioneer in the UAE Parkour Scene

On August 11th,2017, I was honored to host TEDx Fujairah. I was truly inspired by the speakers I met that day and also by the amazing team efforts from he organizers. There was some inspiring speakers and some incredible entertainment that took place. One of those speakers was "Amal Murad". My first impression of Amal was that shes very energetic, passionate. Amal is a pioneer as she is the first Emirati female parkour instructor. 

Below is a quick Q&A with Amal about how she started and what does parkour mean to her. Check it out & also at the end of the interview, check out the link of her TEDx Talk..


Q: How did you get into Parkour. Was it a specific video you saw, a friend? tell us. 
Amal Murad: Since childhood, I used to play video games like 'tomb raider' where the woman lead character would be doing all kinds of cool stunts. Being the daredevil myself as a child who had climbed over to the neighbors' houses and found a path to avoid getting caught by the dogs, I've always felt that I had that side of me. However, I didn't understand what "that side" really was until I could give it a name almost 20 years later. It was when Xdubai started sponsoring two parkour athletes. That is when I was introduced to the sport and had finally started appreciating what possibilities there were. 

Q. You've always said that parkour somehow "Liberated you" - Can you expand more on that? What were liberated from? 
AM: I've always considered sports as a way to release pent up negative energy. Not only is it scientifically proven that exercise gives out endorphins, but to me its more about the way you feel after a dedicated workout. Parkour especially allows you to express yourself through movement. It isn't about jumping over buildings but more about what you find yourself capable of doing when you set your mind on something. 

Bar, we finally meet again! 😭 I'll be announcing something exciting soon so keep an eye out these couple of days ❤️ @gravitydxb

A post shared by Amal (@leap.of.hope) on Aug 14, 2017 at 8:03am PDT

Q. Parkour for you is a way of life. What is/are the main misconceptions if any about this sport? 
AM: I have heard that parkour isn't considered a "real" sport and that it doesn't do much for the body. People tend to underestimate just how much endurance, cardio, strength and explosiveness is required in parkour. We use legs for jumping and balancing, arms for climbing and hanging; truth be told, its a full body workout but the best part is that you don't feel it is. 

Q. You were part of an incredible campaign by "Nike". Tell us about that opportunity. How did it happen? & what is the message that they were trying to convey? 
AM: It was such an exciting opportunity because Nike approached us and wanted to know the struggles we faced as Muslim Arab women in sports. When we initially spoke to them, it was on a very superficial level where we discussed attire and that we had to wear more layers but the dialogue got much more personal. We then went to discuss the reason why we were afraid to even practicing a sport. Almost all of us said that we were afraid of what people would say about us. That is the mental wall we all have and continue to face on daily basis and only we are the ones who are capable of overcoming that wall. 

Q.  How important is the support you been getting from your family? 
AM: I can't stress enough on how important it is to get support from the people you love especially your family. It truly makes all the difference. I am never an advocate to go against your family to do something but more of trying to prove to them over time that you truly are passionate about something.

Q: At any point during your journey. Did you feel like giving up & if so, what did you do to overcome this? 
AM: Yes, when I broke both bones in my forearm. It truly broke my spirit because I felt like that was the end of the road for me. However, that is when your true strength is tested. I feel like it was a good time to reflect on what I have accomplished and whether or not I had the faith to continue. It's about remembering that everything happens for a reason and you have to trust the process. 

Q. What's your dream with Parkour? 
AM: My dream is to encourage more women to try new things in life and to not be afraid of diving into something they love.

Q. You were one of the speakers at TEDX Fujairah. Tell us about the experience of being on a Tedx Stage? & how did the crowd react to your talk?
AM:The experience was overwhelming in the best kind of way. I never expected the crowd to cheer as much as they did. It truly showed me that there are so many people out there going through the same things I am and that we're all in this together in trying to figure out what our purposes are. 

Q. Any last messages/shout outs.. go ahead. 
AM: Shoutout to Big Hass who was the MC during tedxfujairah. He truly is one of the most uplifting people I have come across in a long time. I remember how he hyped me up before my speech when I was nervous and I couldn't be more grateful.


**Watch Amal Murad's Tedx Fujairah HERE

DINA SAADI | SOLO EXHIBIOTION | VALIENT FACES

Dina Saadi is a visual artist based Dubai. She was born in Moscow and raised in Damascus. She holds a BA in Visual Communications. 

She has completed many artwork in public spaces across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the US. Her style is influenced by Pop Art, rich in colour and pattern. Dina believes in changing the world through art and transforming public spaces into galleries. 
She is very passionate about empowering Arab women to use the streets of the Middle East as their canvas. 

Dina, living and working in Dubai, focuses on her career as a visual artist, muralist and video blogger that travels around the world documenting the various stages of her journey and process. 

Dina Saadi was artist in residence at thejamjar from 15 January to 9 March. 

She is holding a Solo Exhibition in Dubai at JamJar from 
13-23 March,2017 that I truly recommend you checking out. I had the pleasure to take a sneak peek and I LOVED IT !!
Here's the flyer:

Social links: 
www.instagram.com/dinasaadi/ 
www.facebook.com/SaadiDina/ 
Snapchat: dina_saadi 
dinasaadi.tumblr.com 
twitter.com/SaadiDina

RAMY ESSAM ft. MALIKAH - SEGN BEL ALWAN رامى عصام - سجن بالألوان (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

FIERCE LYRICAL POWER! Very powerful track by Egyptian Artist "Ramy Essam" & Lebanese rapper "Malikah"