‘Kifak Inta’ Is the Arab Diaspora’s Unfinished Conversation

‘Kifak Inta’ Is the Arab Diaspora’s Unfinished Conversation

When Ziad Rahbani, the legendary Lebanese composer and pianist, first tried to describe his music, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1988 that it was “something like a hamburger that tastes of falafel”, a nod to the beloved Arab street snack made from spiced chickpeas or fava beans. What he was trying to say is that the popularity of globalized Western music during his time, symbolized by the hamburger, only scratches the surface of his music. Bu…