No Ifs, Ands or Buts: Wael Kfoury and "Ma Fi Law"

Today's song is by Lebanese pop artist Wael Kfoury, considered one of the most popular figures in Arabic music. Known as the "King of Romance," or sometimes as just "The King," Wael Kfoury was born into a Melkite Greek Catholic family and learned music by studying solfeggio at a private Catholic university in Lebanon. He has released at least sixteen albums. You can find this song, Ma Fi Law, on his 2015 album Wael. The song is an person's expression of undying love to another.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wael_Kfoury

Tell Me What to Do: Ragheb Alama and "Sahorony Ellil"

Today's random tune comes with a video that has cheesy animation! The song is called Sahorony Ellil, and it is by Lebanese singer, dancer, composer, television personality, and philanthropist Ragheb Alama. Alama began his career in the 1980s as a contestant on a talent show. Participation in the show brought him exposure and he began putting out albums on a yearly pace and hitting number 1 several times in the Lebanon music scene. Born into a Shiite family in Beirut, he began learning the oud at eight years old. He was head of the jury for Arab Idol in 2011-2013, and he was also the first Arab artist to have a CD sold at Starbucks. You can find Sahorony Ellil on his 2001 album of the same name, and on the various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: World Groove (2004). He is joined on the song by Faudel, a French-Algerian raï singer and actor. As you can see from the video, the song is about a lover trying to win back the object of his affection.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragheb_Alama

She Loves Him: Nancy Ajram and "Yalla"

Today's random tune is by Nancy Ajram. From Lebanon and born into an Eastern Orthodox tradition in Beirut, she is a singer, multi-platinum recording artist and a three-time winner of the World Music Awards. She is one of the best-selling Middle Eastern artists of all time, with over 30 million records sold worldwide. She began singing at eight years old and soon began participating in contests. After studying music in her early teens, she released a couple of albums in the late 90s and early 2000's, but her big breakthrough came when she signed a contract in 2002 with noted Lebanese producer Jiji Lamara, who began to move her away from her "decent girl" image. The rest is history. This song, Yalla, can be found on her 2014 album Nancy 8.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

A Truth Self Evident: Maher Zain and "Freedom (Acoustic Version)"

Today's random tune is by Maher Zain, a 34 year old Swedish-Muslim R&B singer of Lebanese origin whose Wikipedia page claims that he has more Facebook fans than any other Muslim musician. His family emigrated to Sweden when he was eight and studied aeronautical engineering in college. He started his music career when he teamed up with Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne and followed him to New York where he produced US artists such as Kat DeLuna. He eventually returned home to Sweden and re-engaged with his Islamic faith, which led him to move out of producing and into a career as a singer/songwriter of R&B songs with a strong Muslim/religious theme. He sings mainly in English, but has also released some of his most popular songs in other languages. He maintains a strong following in Malaysia and Indonesia. This song, Freedom (Acoustic Version), is a single that he released in 2011.

Innovator: Imane Homsy and "Sara"

The video for this song is not the greatest, but we had to include it. Imane Homsy is a deceased musician who can truly be called an innovator of music. A master of the qanun, she took an instrument that had once been relegated to simply repeating the musical phrases of the singer in Arab classical music and turned it into an instrument that could stand on its own. Originally a two-fingered instrument, she expanded it to a ten-fingered technique. She and her music are cultural institutions across her native Lebanon and the Arab world, and she trained a number of students who continue her legacy. Sadly, she passed away in 2013 at the age of 45. This song, Sara, can be found on her 2008 album Seigneur Kanoun.

Lebanese Underground: Yasmin Hamdan and "Hal"

Yasmine Hamdan, a Lebanese/French artist, brings today's random song for the day. Hal can be found on Hamdan's 2013 CD Ya Nass. She became well known as part of the duo Soap Kills, which was one of the first independent electronic bands in the Middle East, and it cemented her status as an underground music icon in the Arab world. Ya Nass is her first solo album. It blends pop, folk and electronic sounds with melodies and lyrics inspired by various Middle Eastern traditions. She also sings in a variety of Middle Eastern langugages. In this video she performs Hal in a cameo appearance in the Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston.

Stormy Weather: Marcel Khalife and "Promises of the Storm"

Our random song today is from Marcel Khalife, a Lebanese singer, composer and oud player. A winner of the Palestine Award for Music and the UNESCO Artist for Peace award, Khalife first created a group in his village in the 1970s to revive Lebanese music and Arab choral singing during the Lebanese civil war. He combines traditional Arab music with western elements such as piano, and recently has concentrated in instrumental works. His music has been controversial in the Arab world - it was banned in Tunisia in 2005 possibly due to his support of imprisoned Arabs in Israel and Arab countries and his support of Tunisian activists. He also faced criminal prosecution in Lebanon for a song using lyrics that quoted the Qu'ran. While Khalife was found innocent of blasphemy, senior Sunni Muslim clerics still maintain that he is guilty. This song, Promises of the Storm, is from his 1997 album of the same name.