Danny Hajjar

The New Arab Meets: Somali-UAE rapper Freek whose hybridity is resonating across borders and laying a fresh blueprint for new talent. Through his fame, he hopes to tell the stories of migrant communities and second-generation Arabs across the Gulf.

The New Arab Meets: Sudanese musician and rhythmic wanderer, Nadine El Roubi. Driven by creative eccentricity, Nadine's soulful offerings have gone some way to capture the newly playful, innovative and off-kilter nature of the Arabic hip-hop scene.

The soundtrack to Disney+'s Moon Knight has been an Arab musical marvel, but director Mohamed Diab's deliberate inclusion of mahraganat, the very Egyptian genre that the country's Musicians’ Syndicate seeks to suppress, is a significant statement.

Faced with a potential disconnect due to their multiple identities within the diaspora, Arab musicians have employed novel methods to keep their identities at the centre of their music. In doing so, they assert themselves in a new, creative way.