Khaliji music (also spelled Khaleeji; Arabic: الموسيقى الخليجية meaning Gulf music) is the music of Eastern Arabia, the Gulf Arabian states and it is popular across the Arab world. It is traditionally characterized by heavy use of the rebab, oud and other string instruments such as the violin, the occasional use of habbān, and the inclusion of percussion instruments such as the mirwas, tabl, and duff drums. Khaliji music first started as a bedouin tradition with poetry sung by a tribe's shaa'ir, which means poet, usually accompanied by a rebab, the lyrics dealt with tales of honor, love, camel riders, and glory warriors. Kuwaitis were the first commercial recording artists and composers in the Persian Gulf region, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pioneered the Khaliji genre into its modern form in