Yemen Used to Be is a collective that was launched in 2019 through the efforts of young volunteers interested in archiving and documenting folk heritage. The collective aims to strengthen the ability of communities to participate in preserving intangible aspects of heritage and in expanding knowledge about Yemeni heritage. It also aims to create a formal index of Yemeni songs for music students and to revive singing schools.

The collective is focused on gathering visual and aural elements from libraries, social media activist groups and the Yemen National Archive. It also works on producing documentary films that discuss the cultural and artistic movement of the 1980s, focusing on important stories, characters and events.