Group Category: Music

IRAB is a Beirut-based non-profit association which has worked since 2003 to enhance the promotion, production, and distribution of what they call “Oriental music.” IRAB works to support contemporary local artists, increase their visibility, and engage the public. By “Oriental music,” IRAB means music in all its traditional and contemporary forms that references the musical heritage of the Middle East. The association focuses on music that lacks market promotion, engages with social issues, and that is unavailable in regular outlets.

Yslem Hijo del Desierto is the first rapper from Western Sahara and currently lives in Spain. His music talks openly about the social injustice and poverty of his people. His most recent album, Sahararap, is dedicated to the Sahrawi people.

For more information, visit his website here.

Said, also known as FLĩtøøx Craizy, is a young rapper from Western Sahara, born in Laayoune City. He began his musical career at the age of fifteen after releasing several solo songs. He has been targeted and arrested for his music and lyrics that call for the independence of his country.

For more information, visit his website here.

Mariem Hassan is a Sahrawi singer and lyricist from Western Sahara. She usually sings in Hassaniyya, an Arabic dialect spoken mostly in Western Sahara and Mauritania. She is widely considered the most representative voice of Sahrawi music. Her work has been added to National Geographic’s World Music Database.

For more information, visit her website here.

Musicians Without Borders is an international network organization that uses the power of music to connect communities and heal the wounds of war and conflict. In the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa, Musicians Without Borders creates sustainable projects and programs in cooperation with local musicians, activists, and organizations.

A grant from the Cultures of Resistance Network supported “From Woman to Woman,” a therapeutic singing program for women survivors of genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Founded in 1985, World Music Institute (WMI) is the leading presenter of world music and dance in the U.S. Music and dance in their myriad forms are both a means to communicate social values and a measure of a society’s aspirations. WMI’s programs are intended to reinforce the cultural values of the community and to communicate to outsiders the unique power of each individual culture.

globalFEST (gF), an annual global music festival in New York City and a year-round resource for international artists, was founded in January 2003. Over its first decade, gF’s groundbreaking 3‐stage, 12‐band world music showcase has become one of the premier world music events in North America. Taking place during the annual Arts Presenters conference, gF highlights artists who represent diverse global styles, ranging from traditional and folk to hybrid acts that incorporate classical, rock, jazz, electronic, and hip‐hop.

International hip-hop artist, human rights activist, and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal founded Gatwitch Records in 2007 to provide aspiring socially conscious artists access to the international stage. Meaning “child of the land” in Jal’s native language of Southern Sudanese Nuer, Gatwitch has used its international production, marketing, and media network to bring attention to East African artists who are mixing contemporary musical styles and local traditions to share their inspirational messages of progressive spiritual, political, and social engagement.

Freemuse advocates and defends freedom of expression for musicians and composers. Initiating the first ever WorldConference on Artistic Freedom of Expression and launching a global network, artsfex, for the protection of artistic freedom, Freemuse aims to set a new agenda for artists’ rights worldwide.

The Foundation for World Arts (FWA) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to creating long-lasting relationships between individuals, artists, and organizations across Los Angeles to nurture cultural exchange, tolerance, understanding, and to strengthen a deeper unity within the community through the arts. FWA is committed to peace, cultural understanding, and the need for universal responsibility.