Hip Hop in Muslim America: Mohammed Yahya and Sway

About Muslimhiphop1

Muslim Hip-Hop1 is a blog written by myself, Najiyya Alim. I became Muslim at the age of 19. I write poetry, but I am not a poet. I rhyme, but I am not a rapper. I can top rock, but I am not a B-girl. I have lived the culture of hip-hop for most of my life. When I converted to Islam I made friends with Ilyas Curtis, Kumasi, Haero Dizaye, and Kidragon. I remember the summer picnics at Aztec Park where Kumasi and Haero would freestyle over beats. Many of us converts lived this culture called Hip-Hop prior to taking our Shahada. I also remember being livid upon the birth of Remarkable Current.

Our community held open mics as a form of dawah, a lyrical invitation to Islam. My children looked forward to hanging out at “Voz Alta”. Today I am a proud mother of 7. I have a daughter who likes to rhyme and a son who likes to b-boy. Crowd don't get it twisted- He can recite Qur'an just as well as he can get down.

My ear is always to the ground and I hear all the events going down in the Muslim Hip-Hop Community. As we get older, we have jobs and these crazy things called responsibilities. I don't know where they came from-they attacked me like ninjas. I respect my time and the time of others, I like to keep my articles short and to the point. I know that I don't have time for 20 pages of colorful words to describe the pavement, so I assume my readers don't have the time to read such nonsense either.

I hope you all enjoy the spot.

JINX

contact: muslimhiphop@live.com

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Poetic Pilgrimage, Mohammed Yahya and Sway- July 4, 2009

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