“I fear for my country/ Whispers resign/ Walls of fear and strife/ Fatigued and dishearted all,” begins Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan’s latest song, “Balad,” which means "country" or "homeland" in Arabic.

In the video of the song from the album “Al Jamilat,” Hamdan is in a scene from daily life in Beirut — rows of cars stuck in traffic, people shouting at each other and children trying to sell small items to the exasperated drivers. “Hostage to the security situation/ I am the citizen deposed/ Hostage to the security situation/ I am the citizen abandoned,” goes the refrain.

The multilingual singer, songwriter and actress, who became famous in the late 1990s with the band Soapkills, is considered the queen of underground music in Lebanon. Hamdan has lived in Lebanon, Greece, France and Kuwait, which helps her mix and match various musical styles.

“In this album, I took inspiration from conversations I had with taxi drivers in Beirut,” Hamdan told Al-Monitor. “My driving is crazy, so people advise me to use cabs instead of driving myself. So I ended up having many conversations with taxi drivers. Many people pass through taxis, so there is lots of energy. There aren't many collective spaces in Beirut where people can mingle and meet, but taxi drivers are in contact with people from different backgrounds and social classes every day. They have many interesting and often politicized stories to tell.”