Do You Remember the Time....
This film took me back to a time when I truly loved hip-hop. It took me back to a time when I had mixes of underground rap on lime green transparent audio tapes. It brought back memories of watching my uncle practicing his skills on the turn tables. The drama of hooking it up. Oh, and the woopins for messin up my moms records.
It took me back to a time when I would walk to the park with my uncles and this huge boom box that had a record player at the bottom. We thought we were cool but sounds pretty ridiculous in retrospect, LOL! and learning to break dance on cardboard boxes. This film took me back to a time when I ran home from school to watch "Yo, MTV Raps." -Driving my family crazy doing the "Ed Lova" in public.
I remember writing down the lyrics to this song and memorizing them:
I remember my B-girl days at "The World Beat Center" in San Diego, rockin' Cross Colors and it was all about the boxers!
I remember Friday Cyphers at school. And the first and last time I choked. (Salamz to Liquid Sunshine-My whole crew took Shahada, Mashallah.)
This is the wonderful energy behind art. It touches and inspires individuals in so many ways. Art can take its admirer to feel its beauty, its pain, its experiences, the anger of social injustice. The artist has gained a form of freedom by releasing what was once carefully cradled within and sharing it with those who will love it and protect it just as the artist does or crush it without regard. An artist is by definition is unique in style, presentation, and many times message. It is this passion that the audience feeds off of. Example:
X Clan... Everyone has an opinion, but truth be told in the mezcla of information, X Clan forced me to research my "blackness"~Africa~ my first glimpse of Islam. I always tell my children "Take what is good, and leave the rest." (of course if it is within the guidelines of your deen).
Many times you sit and listen to a CD and it's awful- Ask yourself WHY, awful. It lacks passion, energy, and sometimes a complete thought. I have heard some songs that sound like the recitation of the alphabets over a random beat. We all know that some of the best artist are on the underground which allows them to stay true to themselves and not true to the dollar. This film gave opportunity for me to reflect on my relationship with hip hop, how hip hop influenced my journey to Islam, and it brought back some really good memories.
HA! HA! HA! HA!
~This is not a share story
DUNYA- Amir Sulaiman
Amir Sulaiman presents DUNYA:::Directed by Mustafa Davis from amir sulaiman on Vimeo.
{the alchemist}
[the alchemist] by Amir Sulaiman from amir sulaiman on Vimeo.
New Muslim Cool in the Wold Beat Center-May 2009
Sister Makeda, known throughout San Diego as Reggae Makossa on Radio 91X Sundays at 8pm, opened her home, the World Beat Center, to the community of LICC. Makeda is one who respects and honors culture and religion which made it very easy to approach her with the idea for a San Diego screening of New Muslim Cool.
Muslims and non-Muslims enjoyed vegetarian patties and pizza, live Cuban Music, and free Starbucks coffee which is always great! 
Muslim children brought with them their non-Muslim friends and family. Non-Muslims who came found New Muslim friendship. Together we watched an ex-drug dealer's road to redemption. Non-Muslims were able to see that Muslims have the same struggles. Also we were able to witness that divorce and homelessness did not stop this brother's effort to help others discover and walk their own road to redemption.
Hamza offered a Question and Answer session with the viewers. He spoke briefly on the fact the our Prophet, Peace be upon Him, did not only help Muslims, but those who were not Muslim as well. That we need to look at people as human beings not as Muslim, Jew, Christian, Black, White and Latino. My favorite quote from Hamza was, "We cannot offer a sandwich in one hand and a pamphlet in the other."
Please Offendum
It was amazing to me that someone so clean has been undiscovered and unadvertised. I guess this is why he is not commercial. There is no gimmick about him. He comes true without trying to get by with his Muslim card.
Omar was raised in an Arab-Muslim sub community. With a supportive and open minded family to guide him in finding a balance within his culture and religious life he was given the encouragement to develop his talents.
Growing up in D.C., home to BET, hip-hop was a part of the youth culture. In college he began making beats, MCing and performing with his partner Mr. Tibbz. Together they were known as N.O.M.A.D.S.
He has spent two years in the lab to get the chemistry right for a timeless record that will, Inshallah, impact his audience. An Arabic/English, Nizar Qabbani meets Langston Hughes. A Syrianamericana firmly rooted in hip hop.
Modest, he does not go on tour but he performs upon invitation!
You can find Omar offendum online:
http://www.offendum.com/
offendum.blogspot.com
and all my facebook friends:
http://www.blogger.com/www.facebook.com/pages/OMAR-OFFENDUM/52031395779
Muslim Hip Hop Indiscriminate
Hip-hop in its earliest structure has been around since the 1920’s. As fans mimicked the funky sounds and moves of James Brown, hip-hop became a culture waiting to be cultivated. That boom, bap, boom-boom, bap became the thick back drop of American music. In the early seventies a culture called hip-hop blossomed in the sound, swagger, dance, art, and dress. The hip-hop culture was adopted by countless "Urban" youth in the seventies before it had a name. Today, those youth have become members of all aspects of society. Teachers use hip-hop to educate and Muslims use hip-hop to motivate.
Now that mainstream America has climbed off their high horse to look into the world of hip-hop, contributors of all religious and ethic backgrounds are looked to for a general impression. Hip-hop is now seen for its expression of the people. It is a well known fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. The teachings of Islam influence and change lives without discrimination. It is an honor from Allah to be of the chosen few on "haq" (truth). The appreciation of the artist is visible in the precision in their craft. There have been Muslims in hip-hop for generations, but now we see a generation who has invited hip-hop into the Muslim world. A people who express their love of Islam in their Music, lyrics, and Art. I remember an open mic in San Diego at Voz Alta. Kidragon was the DJ for the evening. He mixed a speech by Malcolm X over a funk beat. Every word Malcolm was saying was amplified as if he was on stage. You could feel Kidragan giving you the message of Malcolm from his turn tables. Everyone was feeling it: Muslim, non-Muslim, young, old, the sceptic, and the believer. This is hip-hop indiscriminate.
2009 Insha'Allah. Tranquility on a Saturday afternoon. Depth of Field Test.
I don't know who is rhymin' but Global Faction did the footage.
San Diego!!! New Muslim Cool
Hamza, Kidragon, and DJ Raichous will be present at this event. Come out and support!Dawah or Club Salat?
I was of the blessed few to watch “New Muslim Cool” before it's premiere on PBS. This film follows the life of a true da'i. This brotha offers a lot of footage with all of the foot work he commits to. The film crew follows him from the prison, to the community center, home, the studio, and to the stage. While watching this film I had to shake my head in disappointment. Not in the film, because it's excellent, but at one particular portion of the film that featured the M-Team on stage in front of a crowd of Muslims.
The topic of 2009, especially with the release of the film “Deen Tight,” is the use of hip-hop as dawah. I feel that human beings tend to lay the light of responsibility at the foot of others to hide their own blemishes. To have the capability of accepting responsibility one gains the opportunity to cast his ego to the side and “get nurred', as Ismaelo says. Throughout the history of hip-hop men and women who did not know how to be parents shoved their parental defects on the entertainers for having influenced their child's life in a way that they could not or did not. Now we find that Muslims want entertainers to take responsibility for the adab or lack there of in the crowd.
In the footage you can see the adab of the Rasool go out the door and kibr (pride) and riyah (showing off) walk in. An open- mic turns in to Club Salat featuring DJ Akbar. Brothers and sisters who were once shy to look at each other in the Masjid parade around in their freshly shaved “Sunni”, thinned eye-brows and heavy make-up. The Muslim get-down is a time for showing off in movement, dress, and demeanor. Let's not front. Where is the dawah in this? Is this pleasing to Allah ta'ala?
The dawah was in the intent to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together. The dawah was in creating the lyrics to inspire Muslims to do right. The dawah was in creating lyrics that non-Muslims can relate to and show them the truth. The dawah was in proving to others that it is not too late to change your life. Hip-hop is not to blame. The culture of hip-hop can be a great meal, but when you place this meal on a garbage lid it's not so appetizing.
Many in the Muslim community are not going to buy this meal when it is presented like this. I love hip-hop. I love Muslim hip-hop. I love my brothas and sistas who come out and wow the crowd. But what I can't appreciate is when “Sunna” comes out later. As the audience, we must keep our dignity, our adab, and keep our deen tight. We must remember that our character is dawah as well.
The Shukriy Fabel
