by Weyam Ghadbian

These days we rarely hear of Syria outside the context of the latest news coverage of ISIS, the refugee crisis (now the largest in the world), or the destruction of lives, cities, and ancient cultural sites. But despite 40 years of brutal dictatorship, 5 years of revolution-turned-proxy war, and over 200,000 deaths, Syrians continue to exist, survive, resist, and make art. We dedicate this list Syrians across the world. We hear you! And we want the rest of the world to hear you too.

1. Latlateh – Hip Hop, Rap

Political hip hop duo Latlateh from Damascus is the creative collaboration of notable Syrian MCs Bu Kolthoum and Watar. Latlateh is inspiring not only for impeccable rhymes but for Bu Kolthoum and Watar’s political lyrics imbued with social critique and rooted in a deep desire for change in their homeland. As Bu Kolthoum stated in a BBC interview, “The situation in Syria is what motivates us to write. How can we sit by and watch all the pain and suffering that is going on around us and not speak out?“

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2. Khebez Dawla - Alternative Rock

Khebez Dawla’s song “Ayesh” begins with a heart-wrenching question familiar to many Syrians today: “Are you still alive?” Khebez Dawle’s casual/not casual handling of the heavy question of survival in a state of war paired with their melancholic, earnest and self-aware acoustic rock is an inspiring example of Syrians affirming their aliveness in a context that seeks to destroy them.

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3. Hello Psychaleppo – Electro Shaabi, Trip Hop

Aleppan artist Samer “Zimo” Saem Eldahr’s “Hello Psychaleppo” is one of the Middle East’s most eclectic, creative, and aesthetically on-point indie musical projects. Collaging together samples of Oum Kulthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez and other classical Arabic music giants of the 50s and 60s with a manic, edgy psychedelically-inspired electro, Zimo creates a truly postmodern Arabic sound. His disjointed, restless, and yet soothingly familiar sound represent the longing-filled life of a Syrian displaced from a homeland, a homeland that will one day need to be creatively pieced back together.

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4. Samih Choukeir – Traditional

Samih Choukeir is a renowned classically-trained composer and musician whose song, “Ya Hayf” / “What A Shame” quickly became one of the anthems of the Syrian Revolution. Prior to “Ya Hayf” Choukeir had been writing political protest songs for over 30 years, waiting for the moment when his people would rise up against their dictator. “Ya Hayf” was inspired by the victims of regime massacres in Daraa in the early months of the 2011 Syrian revolution, and protests the dictator’s betrayal of his people. “This song is not just a song, it’s a shout of pain,” says Choukeir in a radio interview about the piece.

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5. Omar Offendum – Hip Hop, Rap

Omar Offendum is the hip hop darling of the Arab diaspora—Syrian, rapping primarily in English—Omar imbues his rhymes with an Arabic poeticism. As his biography aptly states, Omar takes listeners on a “lyrical journey from the jasmine-tree-lined courtyards of Nizar Qabbani’s Damascene homes to the flooded riverbanks of Langston Hughes’ Harlem Renaissance poems” His songs articulate support of the popular uprisings of the Arab world as well as the struggles of life as an Arab in the US. Omar’s album SyrianamericanA dropped in 2010. Omar’s commitment to supporting humanitarian relief through his music is apparent in his many benefit concerts to fundraise for Syria and Palestine. His most recent release, “Crying Shame,” chronicles the devolving situation in Syria and explicitly urges its listeners to take action.

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6. Lena Chamamyan - Traditional, Jazz

Lena Chamamyan is an Armenian singer and composer born and raised in Damascus. Lena’s beautiful music revives traditional Syrian folkloric music by infusing it with Armenian music and jazz influences. Speaking on the situation in Syria in an interview, Lena says, “You can’t be Syrian and just live above or beside the situation. Every Syrian is affected by the situation, especially artists connected to the people…We feel lost. As if we’re losing our country and losing the trust in each other. I feel we reached a point where no one is protecting the Syrian people. The politicians’ actions cause more deaths and my first concern is in stopping the bloodshed and the deaths and to give the people hope. I keep asking myself questions like where are we going? What can we do? Well, we should never lose our relation with Syria, keep caring for each other, keep supporting each other. We should keep caring about every death because it’s all human blood being shed.”

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7. Yousef Kekhia and Bisher Hafez – Indie Folk

Istanbul-based Syrian indie folk duo Yousef Kekhia and Bisher Hafez sing primarily acoustic covers of folk songs in English which they’ve collected in an album entitled “Away From Home” (likely in reference to their relocation from Syria to Turkey). One of their most poignant songs however, is their re-written version of the Palestinian folk song “Tareek Ateet,” which grieves the loss of their Syrian homeland to war.

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8. Wasfi Massarani - Traditional

“Wasfi Massarani is a Syrian singer based in the Czech Republic who has been touring Europe and the US singing in support of his homeland. Transforming old songs of Syria’s treasure of traditional music into revolutionary songs about the current uprising and its victims. For example, the song Skaba (Skaba ya demou’ el-ain, meaning tears fall from the eyes), is originally a folk melancholic song. This time however, Massarani made the tears fall for the revolt’s martyrs, starting the song with a dedication to Meshaal Temmo (a Syrian Kurdish civil rights activist assassinated in October last year after joining the revolution). He then moves on to salute every city’s courage and sacrifices. The backing vocals are the voices of real demonstrators (these recordings of the demonstrations are usually sent to him via the internet). As in many Syrian demonstrations, the demonstrators’ gather, hold hands and sing together these old melodies for courage, strength and solidarity.” -News and Noise

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9. Bilad El Sham – Hip Hop. Rai

Usually seen donning an old-school tarboush, MC Assasi, co-founder of the group Bilad El Sham, aims to combine contemporary hip hop with the music of a bygone era. Bilad El Sham infuses hip hop with riffs from retro Arabic classics as well as Algerian Rai music to create a pan-Arab musical movement.

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10. Refugees of Rap - Hip Hop, Rap

Founded in 2006 in a studio in Yarmouk refugee camp in Damscus, Refugees of Rap is comprised of four members from Algeria, Syria, and Palestine. Refugees of Rap’s first self-titled album dropped in 2007 and discusses political and social issues of everyday life for Palestinians & Syrians inside Syria. According to Al Moniter, Refugees of Rap’s 2007 song “Palestine and the Decision” was downloaded by over half a million people. In 2010, the band released their second album, “Face to Face.” In 2011 the group began recording songs sympathetic to the Syrian revolution which resulted in their studio in Yarmouk being ransacked. The group has since relocated to Europe where it continues to record music and tour.

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