Assasi & The HWS release “Sharaf El-Wattan”

For new single Sharaf El-Wattan ("honor of the homeland"), Assasi and rising star The HWS connect with the overwhelming brutality of their native Syria.

Wait no more – “Laysh” and “Yasmina” music videos are here!

Assasi has shaken off the winter doldrums by releasing long-delayed music videos for Third World Wide, Vol. 1 tracks, Laysh and Yasmina. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU-4KzbJroA Both tracks were produced by Haquin, with Yasmina featuring a verse by Athens-based Syrian-Kurdish rapper Sarbasst and guitar work by Mike O'Hehir of Coyote Island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvrJ-w6Tt9s Assasi collaborated with Portland, Maine based [...]

Assasi becomes “Ghost of Sham”

Being a Syrian in exile can feel like a nightmare you can’t wake up from, like walking through the world as a ghost - invisible and cut off from humanity, or inadvertently haunting those around you who can’t understand your pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqzg8d67q8 “Ghost of Sham” was written and shot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Finnish [...]

New release: Emsallam joins Assasi for “Yalalalli”

When you’re stuck between cultures and the world is a mess, why not throw a party? Assasi teams up with Emsallam to laugh in the face of life’s absurdity over a danceable track (Haquin) piled high with layers of darbouka, riq, and cümbüs saz by Lo.Renzo (Lorenzo Mantovani) and Gilbert Mansour. The music video, equally [...]

New release: Assasi fuses Afrobeat with Arabic flair on “Mandal”

One day, I had an epiphany. I realized that haters and their mindless imitators could only bother me if I cared what they had to say. “Mandal” and its accompanying music video celebrate me running out of fucks to give! Featuring live riq, tombak, and sarangi by Lorenzo Mantovani, “Mandal” reinterprets dancehall-UK drill fusion a [...]