With Valentine’s Day just around the corner (Feb. 14), we wanted to make sure that you, just like us, are ready in time for cuffing season’s main event.
While some people point at the craze surrounding the annual holiday for being motivated by money and capitalism, others would rather look at it as an opportunity to either reignite the flame between them and their significant other or shoot their shot and finally make a move on their love interest. Whatever the motive, no intimate moment can be complete without the perfect playlist to soundtrack your coffee date, candlelit dinner plans, or romantic walk with your ting, fling, or actual bae. Luckily, artists pouring their hearts out on a song is one thing that’s not missing from our side of the world.
The recipe to success when it comes to Arabic music usually involves singing about someone else, the feelings you have for them, and how impassioned and infatuated you are by their aura. Whichever part of the Arab World, from Morocco all the way up to Iraq, a quick look at which hits are sitting at the top spots of the charts will be enough to help you grasp the extent of the trend and just how many artists have embraced it on their journey to the sonic industry’s summits.
Historically, artists such as Umm Khulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, or Cheb Hasni, now considered national treasures, were some of the figureheads of an era that spoke the language of love through simpler and more traditional terms. In 2023, our generation can probably hail Cairo-based singer and producer Novo or Boston-based Bayou as some of the creatives that took up their torch, harping lullabies for us to melt to either alone or accompanied by our favorite person.
Below, we’re bringing you a blend of both old and new, making classical ballads and the latest declarations of desire meet in one single playlist for you to press shuffle when the time is right.
Picture courtesy form @rwinalife
