Souad Massi, an Algerian singer and songwriter living in France, performs during the Palestine International Festival 2011, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, July 5, 2011. The Arabic on the wall on the background reads: " Palestine International Festival" . (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Reuters News Story: http://news.yahoo.com/arab-springs-songbird-brings-liberty-west-bank-112004822.html

Arab Spring's songbird brings "Liberty" to the West Bank

"... Blending sounds from north Africa, the broader Arab world, Flamenco, pop and American folk, her songs touch on themes including love, exile and her homeland and are mainly written in Algerian dialect and French.

Her early career was threatened by Algeria's civil war, which broke out in 1991. Musicians and artists were targeted in the conflict between the state and armed Islamist groups. Raised in a working-class area of Algiers, she moved to France in 1999.

A success in France and north Africa, Massi has begun to achieve wider fame in the eastern Arab world, where Egyptian and Lebanese pop stars tend to dominate the airwaves.

Her album "Liberty" addresses issues including the oppression faced by women in Arab north Africa and racial discrimination in France.

Political oppression in the Arab world was also on her mind when producing the album, which was partly inspired by the writings of the 14th Century Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldoun..."