Guest Feature: Mohamad Khreizat
Quick programming note: taking next Friday off from the newsletter, so we’ll be back December 3rd with a new edition!
In the meantime, go listen to the new Adele album immediately.
Okay friends, let’s get right into it. I am so excited to introduce this week’s guest feature: Mohamad Khreizat!
Mohamad is a Lebanese Sound Designer and an Audio Post Producer. He’s the Audio Lead at Kerning Cultures Network, spending his time Recording, Designing and engineering Podcasts and films from around the Arab world.
If you don’t know about Kerning Cultures, go check them out right now. All of their insightful podcasts both in English and in Arabic are absolutely incredible. They do beautiful deep dives and storytelling of so many topics and issues in the Middle East and North Africa. I can’t recommend them enough. And Mohamad is a fellow audiophile like me, constantly listening to music. So I was excited when he agreed to share some of the songs that are near and dear to him:
1. What is your favorite song right now?
I am really digging El Rass’ latest single - “Fernas” a mellow beat full of energy with lyrics that speaks our hearts and minds.
I have been following El Rass work since the start and his work is impressive, constantly evolving, simply a lyrical genius.
2. What’s your go-to song for all your feels?
Boards of Canada always! especially “In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country”
There is a mysterious nostalgia behind their work, it’s warm and comforting yet very complex. As a sound designer I am deeply inspired by their production style and approach to creating music and sound manipulation.
3. Name a song that reminds you of home.
“Lam Azal” by Issam Hajali, from the original Ferkat el Ard band a hidden gem produced by Zida Records in the late 70’s
Habibi Funk released a new press of the album recently.
This track is a classic example of the richness of the music coming from our region, and Habibi Funk is doing great work shedding a light on these forgotten gems.
4. Name a song you know all the words to.
Najat el Saghira - “Ana Bashaa el Bahr”
A song that’s dear to my heart, its very visual and I like that in songs generally.
I have a very vivid memory of this track in Elia Suleiman’s film “The Time That Remains”.
5. Name a song that gets you really hype and ready to go.
“All Caps” by the lyrical genius MF DOOM, may he rest in peace.
MF DOOM’s rhymes over a beat produced by Madlib, can’t get any better,That’s my energy boost and a reminder to keep creating and trying to explore new territories.
Big shout out to Mohamad for joining and sharing his song selections! All of Mohamad’s songs are included in this week’s playlist too, so be sure to take a listen. Go follow Mohamad on Twitter and Instagram, and definitely go subscribe to Kerning Cultures on any platform you use to listen to podcasts. You won’t regret any of this!
What I’m Listening To
Full Playlist
🎧 Flows by Middle Eastern, North African, & Diaspora Artists 🎧
TEENA - El Joker
Khod Nafas - Hend
Harzaneh - Dana Salah
Silent - Daffy featuring Flipperachi, Lil Eazy, and The Game
Zghiret Hal Bayt - Dana Hourani
Tarab Troubador - Bei Ru featuring Omar Offendum and Narcy
Sou9 - Sigou
ISMAK - Tamtam
Zina Weya El Nas - Sina Mousa
Bébé - Maaagic featuring ILY
🎤 Vibes by Latinx & Hispanic Artists 🎤
Envolver - Anitta
Otra Noche - Los Ángeles Azules featuring NICKI NICOLE
Natural - Immasoul
Socadona - LUDMILLA featuring Mariah Angeliq, Mr. Vegas, and Topo La Maskara
Flor - Gabriel Garzón-Montano
Whenever, Wherever (Sahara Mix) - Shakira featuring Tamer Zeitoun and Hani Kamal
Comme Papa - KANIS
Paso a Paso - Lalo Cortés
Solita - Andria Rose
PQNMJ - Cyn Santana
🎼 Other Good Music 🎼
Love Is A Game - Adele
Outlawz - Rick Ross featuring Jazmine Sullivan and 21 Savage
Do 2 Me - Grimm Lynn featuring Flwr Chyld
Go Low - Ms Banks
Doesn’t Matter - BENEE
Sensitive - Serena Isioma
Kunjani - Nandy featuring Sho Madjozi
Dmt - Anyee Wright
Just Friends - Lily Kaplan
Death Row - Young Dolph
What I’m Reading
🇱🇧 Lebanon 🇱🇧
Medication shortages jeopardize recovery for opiate addicts - Tala Ramadan, L’Orient Today
Amid Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis and widespread shortages of crucial medicines, some 1,200 recovering heroin addicts might soon no longer be able to get the medication used in their treatment, health experts told L’Orient Today.
Lebanon was famed for its medical care. Now, doctors and nurses are fleeing in droves. - Sarah Dadouch and Nader Durgham, The Washington Post
Amid cascading crises, nearly 40 percent of physicians and 30 percent of nurses have left since 2019, the WHO says.
Etel Adnan, Lebanese American Author and Artist, Dies at 96 - Nana Asfour, The New York Times
Her novel about a kidnapping in Lebanon has become a classic of war literature. She was in her 80s when her art started to draw international attention.
State of decay: How rubbish became Lebanon’s latest dumpster fire - Kareem Chehayeb, Al Jazeera
Garbage is piling up in the streets of Beirut, thanks to a decades-old waste management system that is buckling.
Lebanese diaspora registering online for elections say they have ‘a duty to vote’ - Fatima Al Mahmoud, The National
Non-resident citizens say they want to build country worth going back to.
🌍 Middle East, North Africa, & Diaspora 🌎
Where couscous ends: Maghrebi routes to Alexandria - Amro Ali, Mashallah News
Alexandria’s connection to the Maghreb is often overlooked. But the cosmopolitan port city developed through centuries of migration and influence from the western side of the Mediterranean, up until the colonial era and the building of self-centered nation states.
The Women Bringing Sex Ed to the Arab World - Mona El-Naggar and Sara Aridi, The New York Times
Activists are using social media to do what Arab countries have failed to do: teach women about their bodies. They are aiming for nothing less than a cultural awakening.
On Being Queer, Arab American, and Speaking Truth Through Food - Marcelle G Afram, Resy
Silver Spring, MD native Marcelle G Afram is the chef and owner of Shababi in Washington, D.C. They previously worked at restaurants that include Maydan, Compass Rose, and Bluejacket. Here are their words.
Take a Trip Around Little Yemen - Chris Crowley, Grub Street
“I’ve been in the Bronx for 20 years — I never expected that this would happen.”
As Murder Plagues Palestinian Towns in Israel, the Killers Are Rarely Caught - Dalia Hatuqa, New Lines Magazine
In neighborhoods rife with poverty and discrimination, many question the commitment of authorities to track down the criminals.
🎶 Music, Arts, & Culture 🎶
We’re in a new Golden Age of pop music cinematography - Larisha Paul, The Fader
Beyoncé, Halsey, and Kacey Musgraves have all, in very different ways, built rich on-screen worlds to complement their music in the past few years. But what constitutes success and failure for these projects?
The tangled history of hip-hop and boxing - Adam Aziz, The Undefeated
From Mike Tyson and Tupac to Zab Judah and Lil Kim, new book examines the connections between musicians and the fight game.
Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ and the Weaponization of Memory - Lindsay Zoladz, The New York Times
The new 10-minute version of a bitter breakup song from 2012 luxuriates in its details and its supersize length, correcting a power imbalance in the relationship it describes.
On '30,' Adele walks among us - Ann Powers, NPR
The star who commands a planetary position in the galaxy of pop chronicles divorce and soul-searching recovery on an album that thrillingly redefines her artistry by bringing her gently down to earth.
Young Dolph, rapper with string of hits, killed in hometown of Memphis - Anying Guo, María Luisa Paúl, and Reis Thebault, The Washington Post
The artist Young Dolph — who rapped with a bold and swaggering style, racking up hundreds of millions of streams and a string of Billboard hits — was shot and killed in his hometown of Memphis on Wednesday, city authorities said.
📚 Other Reads 📚
Holler at Koreatown Run Club when you see ’em in the streets of L.A. - Julissa James, Los Angeles Times
Curious to know what running style is all about? Next time you’re in the heart of the city, pull up.
Hype House of Highlights - David Gardner, The Ringer
Can Overtime Elite, a new league funded by investors like Drake and fueled by social media, overturn the traditional pathway to the NBA?
As Cuba Crushes Dissent, a Nationwide Protest Fizzles - Frances Robles, The New York Times
In the days before the planned protest, the homes of government critics were surrounded by uniformed police officers, state security agents or government supporters holding picket signs, human rights activists said.
When a Child Comes to Understand Death - Sarah Paley, The New Yorker
Even after tragedy befell our community, my mother and I had to keep up appearances.
‘I Think I’m Done’ - Ed Yong, The Atlantic
About one in five health-care workers has left medicine since the pandemic started. This is their story—and the story of those left behind.