Arab Music & Global Sound

I grew up in the Middle East and later returned to Arab and world music with a record executive’s question: how do you bring a major artist or sound to a Western audience without reducing it to an exotic accessory?

From Raï and Arab superstars to the Sting and Cheb Mami collaboration on “Desert Rose,” this section explores cultural translation, international markets, hybrid music, media, politics, and the rare cases when art and commerce make each other stronger.