Rima Rahbani is right, Ziad does not need any further tributes

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly part of the collective memory as national identity series

When Ziad Rahbani passed away, and later Hali, both being sons of the legendary Fairouz (note, Fairouz also lost her daughter Layal in 1988), there was a new appreciation for Rima Rahbani and the role she played with her mother, protecting her privacy at all costs. At first, Rima was seen as "isolating" and "controlling" her mother's presence and image respectively. But the condolences - the very public, star-heavy one for Ziad, and the more private one for Hali - showed a different image. A daughter fiercely protective of her (let's face it) aging mother.

Sure, Rima is very vocal - insulting, harsh and brash - in her social media posts. It does not help that there is a major infighting among the family - specially the cousins (meaning heirs of Assi - now only Rima being alive - and heirs of Mansour) as to the ownership of the vast works present in the archive of what was billed "Rahbani brothers" which are fiercely incrusted in the Lebanese memory with the (mainly) Fairouz voice fronting their works. There were other singers to be precise - Hoda (Fairouz's sister) or later Ronza but none managed to hold a candle to the incomparable Fairouz.

Tomorrow marks the first commemoration of Ziad Rahbani's passing. I shall let other people be sycophants about him and his works (surely, I am a fan, but to me the music trumps all his plays that everyone speaks of). And Rima Rahbani, via her ever present lawyer, issued a major warning. There will be no tributes to Ziad. For her, people selling tickets, telling stories which may or may not be correct, using the name and the likeness are all no-nos. It is to note that yes, Rima did admit that at a certain point Ziad has a major falling out with his mother and her as well in the past (note, "Kifak Inta" was literally about what Fairouz said to him when he met her by accident at the gate of a building), but she (Rima) maintains it happens in all families and this does not give anyone a free pass to use and abuse of her late brother's name.

Thing is? I agree. But maybe not for the same reasons. Is Ziad Rahbani a legend? Is the Pope Catholic? Exactly. When my cousin smuggled the tape of "Ana Mish Kafer" from West Beirut during the war to us, listening to these songs was someone opening an elevator shaft in my mind. Brilliant lyrics, music that takes you to unconventional places, enough words to give the meaning without over doing things. But I digress. What I am saying is - Ziad does not need any of this.

The proof is that when he died there was such an outpour of genuine grief in the Arab world and in the diaspora as well, people were actually sending me messages of condolences. Note, I am not related to the family, nor am I a super-fan who can recite his plays by heart, but by virtue of being Lebanese and in Lebanon, people assuming I must be in deep mourning.

All of this is to say, that yes, Ziad - whose first commemoration of passing is tomorrow July 26, does not need any of the tributes people tried to milk out his name. Heck, he hated when people recognized him on the street and asked to greet him or for a selfie or what not. Want to honor Ziad? Cool. Keep listening to his works. Even if the plays are not my thing, the breathtaking "El Bosta" (here) sends me in an emotional uplifting frenzy every time I listen to it.

Rima is right, away from the legal angle she used, Ziad does not need your tributes.

Fairouz may be an icon but Nohad is a bereaved mother.

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

When Ziad Rahbani died, everyone and their mother went to social media to report about him, how he affected their lives, how they once crossed him on the street (and obviously annoyed him by talking to him when the man wanted nothing but obscurity), and the list goes on. But also, all cameras were on his mother, our national icon Fairouz. Anything she did sent people into a frenzy of analysis.

The woman is 91 years old, lost her husband in 1986 (and no they were not divorced as some people say), her daughter Layal in 1988, her son Ziad in 2025, and was also in the middle of a huge family dispute in terms of the authorship of the songs written by "the two brothers Rahbani" (Assi and Mansour, both dead now) and a life where she is almost not able to live normally following her status not just in Lebanon but in the Middle East as well.

Fairouz, accompanied by her daughter Rima, during the funeral and the condolences would try to be as inexpressive as possible but as I said above, any iota of emotion was incredibly well-dissected by people on social media, trying to interpret things which most likely they have no idea about.

And now Fairouz has lost her second son, Hali at the age of 68. The boy apparently was incredibly handsome but had a case of viral meningitis at the age of 6 months and grew up incapacitated. I read an article whereby Fairouz locked herself in the room for six month doing nothing but caring for the child, only when understanding that her true mission was to go out and sing and enchant people did she leave her self-imposed isolation. But also, it was said that she insisted on caring about Hali herself - which obviously, as she grew older and as he grew older as well must have been a challenge.

But Fairouz, born Nohad Haddad, is actually a bereaved mother and is suffering these losses with no private space to mourn, to grieve, to feel, and to reflect. Everything is happening with little or no privacy.

We all need to be away from the spotlight to assess the loss of loved ones.

Nohad is no exception.

Ziad Rahbani - RIP

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly, part of the project "national identity via pop culture"

 Are there words enough? Ziad Rahbani RIP.

Fairouz vs Elissa: Why is everyone forgetting that "Hanna el Sekran" is an Elias Rahbani song?

Image credit: Rima Rahbani

First the facts:

Ultra popular singer Elissa recently sang on stage a song. "Hanna el Sekran" (Hanna the drunk), altering the words "ysawer bint el jiran" (drawing the girl next door) to "yzabit bit el jiran" (screw the girl next door). 

Cue the uproar.

Enter Rima Rahbani daughter of iconic singer Fairouz who herself had a version of that song (and one of its most renowned interpretations of it). Who - in her usual - fiery but sometimes trashy replies put the blame above and beyond Elissa on her own cousin Oussama Rabhani (Oussama having organized the concert where the snafu happened). She is by the way, not only the daughter of Fairouz but also Assi Rahbani, one half of the super-song writing duo "Rahbani Brothers" (Assi and Mansour - Oussama being Mansour's son).

Yes, I know, quite complicated.

Now Rima is up in arms that no one should sing "her mother's songs". Which technically is not true. Because in the copyright laws once you pay the legal fees to the writers/composers you actually can. Plus in certain cases, performing publicly a song you can waive such rights.

The other problem? Hanna el Sekran is actually an Elias Rahbani composition (younger brother of the Assi and Mansour). Meaning neither of his eldest brothers had anything to do with it, and the first version was in the voice of the late (great) Melhem Barakat before Fairouz put her stamp on it. I digress, but one of Fairouz's songs I love best - El Bosta - was originally a Joseph Sakr song (written by Fairouz's son - legendary composer and writer Ziad Rahbani for him (Sakr) to interpret in one of Ziad's plays Nazl El Sourour).

Which brings us to - why is everyone forgetting that the song originally had nothing to do with either parents of Rima Rahbani?

This does not absolve Elissa. But also does not Absolve Rima either.

The only redeeming factor? Rima just published an updated photo of her mother arranging a flower in a vase. 

Swoon....