Lyrical liberty and rhythmic reign: Herstory sings new song for Saudi Arabia's female musicians

Herstory (يتّصق) means 'My Story' in Arabic. It was co-created by writer and director Hannah Berry George and Executive Producer Ruby Malek and was produced by Ruby's company 823 Productions.

It offers a unique, pioneering look into a world where, until recently, “music wasn't allowed and women couldn't be heard.” Now, it's a snapshot into an industry where “these rising female Saudi artists are among the first to break down barriers and change the Saudi music scene forever.”

Ruby, who is half American and half Lebanese, tells The New Arab: “I am very into woman empowerment, my biggest inspiration is my own mother. And everything I do in my work has to have a purpose. These women have such great stories to tell.”

"Don't stop trying because hard work and determination always pay off in the end. Never give up on your dreams and always believe in yourself — obstacles are merely stepping stones that help you rise to the top"

For Hannah, the writer of the show, the project started after she did a music video for the Muslim and hijabi Syrian American woman rapper Mona Hayder. She thought: “Where are all the other women like her? So I looked for them. And a few months later, I came to Ruby as a potential producer with this idea. Then lockdown happened…”

She met Ruby on the set of Mona's video, but with COVID-19 and Hannah being based in England, and Ruby in the United States, the conception of this project took them a year and a half.

“Then in October 2019, I went to Saudi Arabia to shoot a commercial,” Ruby adds, “and in December I heard about a music festival in the country and felt Saudi was on the verge of change for women in music.”

The electronic dance music (EDM) festival MDL Beast, had launched in December 2019 indeed, in Riyadh, with megastar DJs and artists such as David Guetta and Nicky Minaj. But the festival also hosted local artists. 

“I went back to the States, reconnected with Hannah, and discussed this idea with her. I just think I went there at the right time.”

They both wanted to focus on “empowering the Saudi female artists coming up in the music scene”, on showing how “Vision 2030 has enabled these women to pursue a career in music without having to leave the Kingdom to do so”, and on “inspiring our Gen-Z audience to follow their dreams and smash more glass ceilings.”

Saudi Vision 2030 was launched as a roadmap, drawn up by the Saudi administration, to “harness the strengths” of the country, and offer a “strategic position, investment power and place at the centre of Arab and Islamic worlds,” with a focus on youth and culture.

Ruby used her connections with the giant television network MBC to submit a proposal to Shahid, a streaming platform bigger than Netflix MENA.

“For us, it was first a great story to tell,” Ruby adds, “about women empowerment. Every artist’s dream is to be seen all over the world! Their story to be able to touch both the East and the West."

With 10 episodes, approximately 20 minutes each, this documentary series is aimed at a demographic of 15 to 40-year-old viewers. Each episode focuses on one artist, covering different genres, from the traditional Arabic singer Zena Emad to Arabic folk musician Ghada Sheri, hip hop artist Jara, electro musician Cosmicat, female out player Hatoon Idrees, Alturk Twins, opera singer Sawsan Al Bahiti,  DJ Panda, jazz musician Loulwa, and the pianist Abeer Balubaid.

“We did a lot of research to find them, especially via social media. I come from journalism, and I did law before, so I wanted to focus on the facts, to find artists that were unknown to us. Every one of them is paving the way in Saudi, even if many of them thought about leaving the country at one point… We also wanted to curve stereotypes… Ruby and I are questioning always these things people and opinions in the West and the East. We have a lot of Arab friends in the East and the West.”

"Being part of this show means a lot to me on a personal level, I look back at the years writing songs and singing them alone in my room to now sharing my story and those same songs with the world, it's surreal"

They spent months researching and writing the scripts, then Ruby travelled to Dubai in 2020 to sell the show. “It took another year to sell it,” she adds. 

The filming started in 2022. “At the time, none of the women artists had an agent,” Ruby says, “they were just known on social media, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp. And local production companies helped us with the shoot. Key people helped us, the Saudi broadcaster Big Hass for instance, who has a great interest in Arabic hip-hop.

“We were aware of the fact that these women were taking a chance on us,” Hannah adds. “We had to take into consideration their concerns. And Shahid trusted us too.”

They were also trying to make a daring show, for Gen Z, with graphics and animation by the Lebanese company Pixelmob. The results are very impressive, with no voice-over, following the artists in their everyday lives, and showcasing notably how certain men, fathers and producers, empowered these female artists.

“So we interviewed lots of men too,” Hannah says, “men who are holding the woman up. We wanted to show that if a guy supports a woman, it helps so much.”

Ruby continues, "So, we also interviewed loads of them... we wanted to show supportive men supporting women, to set an example.”

They spent over 30 days in Saudi Arabia to film, mostly in Riyadh and Jeddah.

The focus is “the women changing the game in the Saudi music scene”, their influences growing up, the obstacles they've encountered within themselves as well as from their family, culture and society and look at how their existence inspires others to follow suit, using their platform and their voice to challenge culture and conventions, paving a new future for music and women within the industry.

For the artists, it was an incredible moment too. Jara said to the production: "Being a pioneer as a female rapper in Saudi and in the Arab World is so surreal, and having the opportunity to be part of a beautiful documentary highlighting the inspiring talents and strength of women like myself dealing with similar struggles in our own paths is very heart-warming to me. I'm beyond blessed to be part of HerStory so that I could share my story with whoever is keen to listen.”

Ghada Sheri added: "Being part of this show means a lot to me on a personal level, I look back at the years writing songs and singing them alone in my room to now sharing my story and those same songs with the world, it's surreal.”

DJ Panda concluded: "Don't stop trying because hard work and determination always pay off in the end. Never give up on your dreams and always believe in yourself — obstacles are merely stepping stones that help you rise to the top.”

Herstory offers a unique insight into a world unseen and a blooming music scene. In these times of bleak news, it’s also an uplifting and heart-warming, inspirational watch.

Melissa Chemam is a French-Algerian freelance journalist and culture writer based between Paris, Bristol and Marseille, and travelling beyond.

Follow her on Twitter: @melissachemam