Hanni El Khatib: Rocking The Blues

Written by our friend Benyamin

Hanni El Khatib might not sing in Arabic (he's a half-Palestinian half-Filipino American with lots of tattoos) but with a name like Hanni El Khatib, he's earned a spot on Hot Arabic Music. El Khatib works out of San Francisco and Los Angeles and makes crunchy, sexy blues rock. Sort of like the Black Keys, except actually marginally interesting. He describes his music as “songs that were written for anyone who's ever been shot or hit by a train.” His excellent debut EP Will the Guns Come Out dropped in September 2011.



El Khatib has been generating some buzz over the last few months, with features from NPR, the Guardian, and gigs with Florence + the Machine. He's also got strong American cultural pedigree, as a former creative director of legendary San Francisco clothing line HUF and a recent signee to storied LA hip hop record label Stones Throw. El Khatib is definitely someone to watch for 2012. He spent the fall touring Europe and Australia, and is performing around southern California currently, but hopefully he will embark on a wider US tour soon.