Cities / United States
Los Angeles · لوس-أنجلوس
Film, music, fashion, and visual culture moving between industry and independent practice.
How Los Angeles Shapes the Music
Los Angeles is where Arab pop connects to the global machine. Wassim ‘Sal’ Slaiby’s SALXCO, the management operation behind Universal Arabic Music, runs the crossover pipeline from here; RedOne wrote global pop history from LA studios; and the current wave’s two most visible stars, Elyanna and Saint Levant, both work from the city.
The trade is explicit. Los Angeles supplies scale: labels, sync, festivals and media. In return it takes a say in the narrative, which versions of Arab identity get amplified and how, and the terms of that exchange are still being negotiated, artist by artist.
Artists in the Ghurba Index
Elyanna
Musician
Saint Levant
Musician
RedOne
Producer
Bassem Youssef
Writer
Cherien Dabis
Director
Sofia Boutella
Actor
Fredwreck
Producer
The Ghurba Files
Saint Levant Is Building a Career Out of Refusing to Choose
What the Coldplay Collaboration Actually Changed for Elyanna
The Global Music Industry Loves Arab Identity, on Its Own Terms.