Mayssa Karaa and Deepak Chopra Present 'Pause for Humanity'

Mayssa Karaa, artistic director of the Berklee Abu Dhabi Center, brought together 88 alumni musicians from 26 countries to create “Pause for Humanity,” a new song of hope, positivity, and solidarity. Reflecting on the challenges of the past year, the song represents an invitation for listeners to heal their mind and soul. The song's video, which features an introduction by world-renowned New Age leader Deepak Chopra, recently surpassed 300,000 views on YouTube. 

Watch the video for “Pause for Humanity": 

Written and composed by Pedro Osuna B.M. ’19 and Paola Munda ’18, “Pause for Humanity” encourages audiences to pause, reflect, and self-actualize with its message of kindness, hope, and healing. The song came from the writers’ desire “to create something that would unify and demonstrate that every single one of us can make a difference, no matter how hard the times we are facing,” said Munda. 

"This song is important because it reminded us that music has the power to heal and bring people together at a time we need it more than ever,” said Osuna.

Karaa, who sings on “Pause for Humanity,” is a Lebanese-American singer-songwriter and 2012 Berklee graduate who has been active in the American and Middle Eastern music market for over a decade. She was a featured vocalist on the Arabic version of “White Rabbit” from the Grammy-nominated American Hustle soundtrack. Her single “Hayati,” produced by Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman, reached number one on Apple Music in India. Her full-length English solo debut, Simple Cure, was released in June 2019. 

"The world has been facing one of its biggest challenges,” said Karaa. “The toll and repercussions of this catastrophe have helped us realize that we are all united to fight this battle as one. ‘Pause for Humanity’ is a time to breathe and reflect on how this past year has propelled us to improvise and turn challenges into opportunities as a community."