work

WRITING

• 'I can’t listen without feeling rattled': how Fairuz’s anthem of resilience became a harbinger of strife for Lebanon. The Guardian, Apr. 2026

• In Conversation | Iranian-American Artist Neena Roe Remains Hopeful In Humanity. Complex MENA, Mar. 2026.

• Nabeel: Waves Of Noise, Songs Of Family. Rolling Stone, Mar. 2026

• In Conversation | Tarek Qaddafi Quietly Shapes Sneaker Culture From Kuwait To The World. Complex MENA, Mar. 2026.

• My Lebanon Is At War Again; I’m Watching From Massachusetts. Boston Globe, Mar. 2026

• In Conversation | Neemz Is Designing Sneakers, Dropping Bars, and Building Her Own Lane. Complex MENA, Feb. 2026.

• Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Was A Masterclass In Going Global. GQ Middle East, Feb. 2026

• Putting Respect On Lebanon’s Pioneering Role In Arabic Hip-Hop. Complex MENA, Feb. 2026.

• The Curious Case of Mohamed Ramadan. GQ Middle East, Jan. 2026.

• We Don’t Know Much About Najm. That’s By Design. GQ Middle East, Jan. 2026.

• Norhan Is Not Apologizing For Her Arabic. GQ Middle East, Jan. 2026.

• Meet Kazdoura, The Duo Fusing Psychedelic Rock with Traditional Arabic Maqam. GQ Middle East, Jan. 2026.

• Danny Hajjar’s Favorite Songs of 2025. GQ Middle East, Dec. 2025.

• The Industry Put Tawsen On Hold. He Came Back Thankful. GQ Middle East, Dec. 2025.

• Motherhood, Music, and Defiance: How Moroccan Superstar Manal Is Transforming Personal Struggle Into Powerful Soundtracks. The New Arab, Dec. 2025.

• Al-Música: When Arabic Music Went Latin. ICON MENA, Nov. 2025.

• Arabic Music Deserves To Be Critiqued. GQ Middle East, Nov. 2025.

• Yasmine Hamdan Still Refuses To Conform. GQ Middle East, Sept. 2025.

• The Tao of Zeyne: Self-Love, Radical Vulnerability, and Unabashed Determination. Rolling Stone MENA, July 2025.

• The Rise of MENA Music. GQ Middle East, July 2025.

• In The Algorithm Age, Should We Go Back To Burning CDs? GQ Middle East, Apr. 2025.

• Arab Lincoln’s Quiet Power In The Sneaker Game. GQ Middle East, Apr. 2025.

• Danny Hajjar’s GQ Middle East Playlist Is All Human, No Algorithm. GQ Middle East, Apr. 2025

• The Unlikely Architect of Iraqi Shoegaze is a High School Teacher in Virginia. GQ Middle East, Mar. 2025.

• How Palestinian Star Saint Levant Is Helping Uplift & Support His People. The GRAMMYs, Feb. 2025.

• Marwan Moussa Already Defined Egyptian Rap. He Wants To Go Even Further. Rolling Stone, Jan. 2025.

• Ten Arab musicians to watch in 2025, from Zeyne to Molham. The National, Dec. 2024.

• 5 Independent Record Labels Bringing The Sounds Of The Middle East To The World. The GRAMMYs, Oct 2024.

• Get To Know TUL8TE, The Rising Arab Pop Star Bringing Egyptian Culture To The World. The GRAMMYs, Oct 2024.

• Saudi Rapper Blvxb Says Hip-Hop ‘Saved My Life’—Now, He’s Using It To Help Others. The National, July 2024.

• According To Apple, Non-Western Music Doesn’t Exist, Mille World, May 2024.

• The 50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century. Rolling Stone, Apr 2024.

• Saudi Singer Fulana is Anything but Anonymous. GQ Middle East, Apr 2024.

• The Perfect Storm. SPIN, April 2024.

• DYSTINCT Is Taking Moroccan Culture Global, One Hit at a Time. Rolling Stone, Feb 2024.

• إليانا تجدد الأمل بموسيقى عربية جامعة ينتشر صداها حول العالم. Billboard Arabia, Feb 2024.

• The Egyptian Rapper Wegz Wants to Take Arabic Hip-Hop Worldwide. The New York Times, Nov 2023.

• The Redemption of Moroccan Rapper, ElGrandeToto. GQ Middle East, Oct 2023.

• Multidisciplinary Lebanese Artist Blu Fiefer Plays Chess in a Music Industry That Plays Checkers. GQ Middle East, Sep 2023.

• Artist Spotlight: Tamtam the Saudi artist turning pop into poetry. SceneNoise, Mar 2023.

• Arabic Music Is on the Brink of a Global Breakthrough. Pitchfork, Mar 2023.

• Get to Know the New Perrie, the Egyptian-Moroccan Artist Whose Latest Album is Her Most Vulnerable Yet. GQ Middle East, Mar 2023.

• Rita L’Oujdia: The artist putting Morocco on the global music map. Middle East Eye, Feb 2023.

• 10 Arab artists you need to listen to in 2023. Esquire Middle East, Jan 2023.

• Starting a new story for Black artists in the Gulf: Somali-UAE rapper Freek mashes up the beat, Arab style. The New Arab, Oct 2022.

• Music in “Mo” Pays Homage to Palestinian Artists. Institute for Palestine Studies, Sep 2022.

• Catching a vibe: Nadine El Roubi's artistry is as elegant as it is enigmatic. The New Arab, Jul 2022.

• The Celtics didn't win it all this year, but they still make me happy. WBUR, Jun 2022.

• How Egypt's mahraganat music marvels in Disney's Moon Knight. The New Arab, Apr 2022.

• Reattaching rhythmical roots: How Arab artists in the diaspora navigate identity through musical expression. The New Arab, Mar 2022.

• Hip Hop Finds Its Groove in North Africa. New Lines Magazine, Feb 2021.

• After the Beirut blasts, the Lebanese diaspora is left between helplessness and guilt. The Washington Post, Apr 2020.

features / INTERVIEWS

• Should North African Musicians Aspire To Global Fame? OkayAfrica, Feb. 2026.

• MENA Is The World’s Fastest Growing Music Industry: What Next? OkayAfrica, Apr. 2025.

• The Year’s Best Albums, Handpicked by Danny Hajjar. Mille World, Dec. 2024.

• ‘Shik Shak Shook Ones’ Is The Newest Podcast Providing Hot, Unfiltered Music Takes. Mille World, Sept. 2024.

• In Conversation with Danny Hajjar, the Unofficial Ambassador of Arabic Music. Mille World, July 2024.

• Sa’alouni El Nas: A digital sobhiye for the global MENA community. L’Orient Today, May 2022.

• Danny Hajjar’s Weekly Newsletter “Sa’alouni El Nas” Spotlights the Best Music From the Middle East and Africa. GQ Middle East, Mar 2022.

audio

• Lebanon Mourns Beloved Artist Ziad Rahbani. NPR, Aug. 2025.

• Arabic pop music takes the global stage. CBC, Jan. 2025.

• Iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz turns 90. PRI The World, Nov 2024.

• Amid airstrikes and armed conflict, Lebanese musicians hit a somber note. NPR, Oct 2024.

• ‘We’re just taking space.’ How Arabic music is breaking through to new audiences. PBS NewsHour, Apr 2023.

• A new wave of Arab musical artists are gaining global traction. NPR, Mar 2023.

• Arabic music is having a cultural moment thanks to TikTok. WDET 101.9 FM, Apr 2023.