A-WA

A-WA (Yes) was an Israeli musical band that played traditional folkloric Yemenite music blended with modern dance music styles, like hip hop, reggae, and indie rap. The band was made up of Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim, three sisters from a Yemenite Israeli family of six children. They grew up in Shaharut, a small village in southern Israel. Their father was the son of Yemenite immigrants from Sana’a, who played several traditional instruments, while their mother was Ukrainian and Moroccan.  A-WA was formed in 2011, and their breakout song was Habib Galbi (Love of My Heart), sung in the Yemenite dialect of Arabic. Their first album, also named Habib Galbi, was released in 2016 and their second, Bayti Fi Rasi (My Home Is In My Head), in 2019. Bayti Fi Rasi is based on the experience of their great-grandmother when she was airlifted to Israel from Yemen in 1949/50 during  “Operation Magic Carpet,” and reflects on the difficulties of new Yemenite immigrants in the transit camps.