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" When I started doing music, it was out of despair and boredom. I got passionate about it, and I felt that it allowed me to become somebody: an artist who explores her different identities. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Her

Doing

Boredom

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" I have learned to create from a hybridized point of view. It's an asset - something rather liberating. "

" We all have femininity in us. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Femininity

" Collaborating with other artists is an emotional thing. Obviously, you don't do it unless this person inspires you. "

" It's complicated for my music to be accepted, even in Lebanon and the Arabic world - I sing in Arabic, but there's no lute, no classical instruments. Maybe with the Internet opening things up, things will change. "

" For me, a taxi is like a public space because so many people get in that space. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Because

" I've always had a sense that I am doing something very important, something vital. "

" My family played a part in bringing communism to Lebanon. "

" You do not start by working on society; you start by yourself to be a freer person and a more independent person. "

" I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting. "

" My dad was a brilliant civil engineer. My parents later divorced, but we lived in Abu Dhabi, Greece, Kuwait. "

" I had the urge to face my own limitation, and I needed to be bigger. I needed to be more professional and be in a more competitive environment because I wanted to grow as an artist. That's why I went to Europe. "

" My father is an engineer, and my mother raised the three children. "

" I don't believe that there is a separation between art and political consciousness. "

" I love Khaliji music; it's very inspiring. "

" The Arabic music I listen to is extremely edgy. Ironic, sarcastic, sensual, erotic. "

" When I imagine feminine characters in my songs, they're often bold, strong, passionate, militant, witty, sensual, dangerous. I see those characters as skillful witnesses, figures of change and awakening. "

" When I read the Koran or hear it read, the images and the poetry, the sound of the language is very inspiring. "

" As an artist, you need to be true to yourself and free and not put yourself in a box that contradicts with what you feel is needed for a song. "

" I'm Muslim but not really. My family did not care. And I always managed to skip religion classes when I was living in the Gulf, even when they were obligatory. "

" Because of the Lebanese civil war, I had a scattered childhood. I had to build my own connections to each country we moved to. "

" It's interesting to be at once an insider and outsider. It's a way of learning how to find your way freely without the need of conforming or belonging. "

" When I started, I didn't know how to sing in Arabic - it's a very complex and sophisticated music full of codes and modes and quarter-tones. "

" There should be no borders, race, colours, or ethnical considerations when it comes to music and creativity. "

" World music can be sometimes like the lumber room in which all the non-English singers are dumped. When you are singing in Arabic, no matter what your style of music or artistic proposition is, you are faced with some of that reality. "

" I follow my desires, and I'm prepared to take the consequences. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Desires

Consequences

" I had an Arabic background. but I lived a very scattered childhood. I didn't belong to any one culture, which meant I didn't have musical geographies in my head. "

" All of the Arabic women I grew up listening to or watching had a very strong character. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Character

Women

" I sing in Arabic as a statement. It's art, and it's a challenge. "

" When the public doesn't understand me, it's a battle. So when I choose words, I choose them for their musicality, rhythm, and sense, and I choose the right dialect to express that. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Choose

Words

" I was raised by strong women, and the role models I had in music and cinema were strong, too - liberated and provocative. "