Ramzi Salti Champions Indie Arab Musicians With 'Arabology' Podcast

For over a decade, Ramzi Salti — aka DJ Ramzi — has been sharing his deep passion for Arabic music with listeners all over the world through his radio show and podcast, Arabology.

Between his encyclopedic-level musical knowledge and his voice — a deep rasp elevated by a warm, enthusiastic on-air demeanor — “radio deejay” is a fitting role for him. But Salti, an advanced lecturer in the Arabic program at Stanford University since 1999, didn’t expect to add the title to his résumé.

Then, the pro-democracy movements of the Arab Spring sprouted in 2011.

“It was a very optimistic time. And the music that fueled the revolution was everywhere,” Salti said. “And people were asking me since I speak Arabic, ‘What are they saying?’”

Salti started translating songs as a resource for people on campus — like Egyptian band Cairokee’s popular anthem “Sout al Horeya,” which means “Voice of Freedom,” and Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi’s iconic song “Kelmti Horra,” which means “My Word Is Free.”

He was also invited to talk about the music of the Arab Spring on Stanford’s radio station, KZSU. The reaction was so positive that he was asked back a few more times. By the fourth guest spot, he was offered to train as a deejay and get a show of his own. And Arabology was born.

“Before I was a deejay and before I had a radio show, I’ve always been an educator,” Salti said. “When I talk about Arabology, I say it’s an educational show … it’s entertainment with a goal.”

His goal is to introduce people to the wide variety of Arabic music that exists, hoping they’ll enjoy it and be curious to hear more. Each two-hour episode is filled with fun facts about Arabic music and artists, sprinkled across an array of indie Arabic tracks and remixes — everything from Arabic rock, electronica, jazz, pop, hip-hop and more. He also features interviews with musicians, actors, poets and other culture makers on the show, which began as a weekly live program on KZSU.

“When you hear about Arabic music, it just sounds foreign to so many people,” Salti said. “And it gets mixed in with religious chants and religion and Islam — all of which are beautiful — but there’s a whole other genre of Arabic music that is very secular.”

He also hopes that by exposing audiences to the diversity of sounds and stories of various Arab artists, the show will help push back against the stereotypes and demonization of Arabs and Arab Americans in society.

“If somebody walks away with the idea that, ‘wow, Arabic music isn’t as weird as I would have thought,’ or change their mind about the systematic demonization we see of Muslims, that would be what I want,” Salti said.

A lifelong love of music

Salti’s love for Arabic music started early. “Music has been my best friend since childhood,” Salti said. He grew up in Lebanon, and then in Jordan when his parents moved the family there after the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975.

“When I got to Jordan, I was so lonely, and I missed Lebanon so much,” he said. “So I would turn to music and Arabic music — especially the music of Fairuz, who is the number one Lebanese diva.”

In 1983, Salti moved to the U.S. to study at Santa Clara University. Just 17 years old and navigating the culture shock on his own, he again turned to music to help him cope. He credits the couple of cassettes of Arabic music he brought to California with getting him through college.

Among his peers, Salti’s ear for music stood out. At graduation, he and his friends made and exchanged cassette mixtapes as gifts. For his mixtape, he included songs with lyrics in English and French, plus some songs in Arabic.

“And I would wait to see the reaction,” Salti said. “And sure enough, I would always get positive feedback. And they would tell me … ‘the way you choose music is so great. You should have a radio show one day.’”

A show where indie Arab artists shine

Salti is especially known for featuring indie artists, women artists and LGBTQ artists on Arabology — the singers and musicians often ignored by mainstream Arabic radio stations, particularly in more conservative areas.

“I can play that kind of music right here at KZSU in Arabic and not have to censor it,” Salti said. “In fact, I can praise it and disseminate it because it is beautiful, powerful music that unfortunately doesn’t get heard enough in the Arab world.”

He’s hosted shows that have focused solely on Arab women’s voices. The music of Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan — who Salti refers to as “the queen of underground Lebanese music” — is featured often, and Hamdan herself has been a guest on the show. Her 2009 electronic synthpop album Arabology, as part of the duo Y.A.S., inspired the name of Salti’s podcast.

Another artist he’s interviewed and played often on the show is Hamed Sinno, who is openly gay. Sinno was the lead singer of the Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila until the group disbanded in 2022 due to harassment and hate campaigns.

In 2009, they released a song titled “Shim El Yasmine,” which translates to “Smell the Jasmine.” It’s a tender ballad about Sinno’s break-up with a man.

“It was such a moment because I think it was the first time we had an openly gay Muslim singer sing in Arabic about what [they are] going through,” Salti said.

Salti said the common theme in all the music he plays is coexistence, whether it’s from artists living on the margins of Arab society or songs with more explicit messages of unity.

One of his go-to artists in the latter vein is Lebanese singer Tania Saleh and her song “Omar and Ali.” In it, she encourages Sunni and Shia Muslims to end their fighting and make peace.

“She says, ‘Get up Omar, get up Ali, shake hands and become brothers again,’” Salti explained.

“On a more personal level, I myself happen to be a Christian Arab, but I’m always assumed to be Muslim,” he added. “A lot of people think the whole Arab world is Muslim.”

He said he doesn’t typically correct people because he doesn’t want to feed an idea that there’s anything wrong with being Muslim. But it’s a reminder of the stereotypes he and other Arabs and Arab Americans face — and an added motivation for him to continue showcasing different Arab communities and perspectives through his show.

‘We need to build bridges’

Ramzi’s dedication to amplifying indie Arab musicians has built him a solid reputation in that scene. Today, the show is a go-to platform for emerging Arab and Arab American musicians.

“I’m at a stage where every morning when I look at my email, and I look at my messages, there are people telling me about other people, [or] that I need to discover this band. Some bands send me their demos,” Salti said.

Since the pandemic, Salti has been pre-recording his shows on a more sporadic schedule and releasing them as a podcast on streaming platforms, including a video podcast on YouTube. This summer, he’s spending time in Jordan, where he plans to interview artists for new episodes of Arabology. He otherwise hasn’t released a new show in a while, which he said is intentional.

“It feels weird and inhuman, maybe, to be playing dance music from that region at a time where people in that region are living a nightmare,” Salti said, referring to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Salti said that instead, he’s been discovering poetry by poets in Gaza, set to music. He cites one such production by Checkpoint 303, a nonprofit, experimental music collective founded by Tunisian artist SC Mocha and Palestinian artist SC Yosh. They remixed the viral poem by Palestinian poet and professor Refaat Alareer titled “If I Must Die.” Alareer published the poem on social media just weeks before he was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike.

“The song itself is powerful,” Salti said. “It will make you really, really think about the violence that’s going on and how many potential artists, singers, poets are disappearing before they’ve even seen the world or been given a chance.”

At the same time, Salti acknowledges the power of music as a means of expression and hope.

“I think a lot of Arab artists and even artists in Gaza itself are finding that music and poetry [are] one of the few outlets they have left,” he said.

Salti also likes to share songs that combine Hebrew and Arabic when he comes across them. “I’m so proud of these artists who come together, you know, Jewish artists with Muslim artists recording a duet. That, to me, is beautiful.”

Because while Salti may switch up songs for his music mixes, one tune remains constant — his commitment to opening hearts and minds through music.

“What I want listeners to take away when they listen to one of my episodes has never changed, and that is to have a different view of the Arab world and to understand that the difference between East and West is not so vast; that we need to build bridges; that we can both learn from each other,” he said. “And for me, if music gets you to discover tolerance and coexistence, then I’ve done my job.”