Tradition and Change in the Encounter Between Islam and Secularism

One interesting aspect of the modern struggle for freedom for Muslims to practice their faith in the USA and Europe is how that struggle changes all the parties involved, in unexpected ways. Americans can fret about 'creeping sharia', Europeans can rail about secularism, and even ban the headscarf in the EU, but they can't keep more and more Europeans and Americans from converting to Islam, and indeed it seems, the more they rail, the more attractive Islam seems to free-thinking Europeans and Amricans, who wish to discover the religion for themselves. In other words, the kind of exclusionary hardcore secularism promoted by many Europeans and American atheists is precisely the kind of ideology more likely to drive people towards committed religious belief as a countercultural move (especially when they see the connection between Islam and the Black Freedom Movement in the US). And if anything the struggles over Islam expose how secular atheism can be just as much an exclusionary, hateful and doctrinal ideology as what these same atheists imagine Islam to be. Secular atheists of the left will try desperately to argue that the secular right in Europe and the US is not the 'true' secularism, but the fact is that secularism itself is being reshaped by struggles around Islam, and will continue to evolve in unexpected ways as a result of this encounter. On the other hand, traditionalist Sunni Muslims seeking the freedom to practice their faith in an American context can rail against liberalism and secularism all they want, but they will have to tolerate Ahmadis, Shias and other Muslim religious dissidents who would be persecuted and killed with nary a peep about human rights in majority Muslim countries (countries they often travel to because that is supposedly where the faith is the 'purest'). They will have to share religious space along LGBT communities who are politically mobilized in ways unfamiliar to those immigrating from majority Muslim countries. They will have to reckon with the close association between Islam and hip-hop in the US, while the scholars they learn from regard music as haram. Most importantly, they also have to share space with atheists, who are, along with Muslims, the least popular religious group in America. In advocating for religious space in America and Europe, using secular principles, Sunni Muslims are already beginning to shift, fudge or simply reject the faith's basic attitudes toward atheists, who the Quran condemns in the strongest possible terms. No doubt there will be a considerable amount of double think around this shift, but it is happening and it is already changing the practice of American Muslims I know (Europe I am much less familiar with). As much as this horrifies the likes of certain Muslim bloggers and preachers, Islam itself is being reshaped around its struggles with liberalism and secularism, and will continue to evolve in unexpected ways as a result of this encounter. What I personally take from this: Don't let anyone tell you that a civilizational clash is occurring, or that either Islam or the West has a superior moral code. Study civilizations and beliefs from the perspective of insiders, but don't assume the insider's beliefs are always valid. Don't let anyone convince you that secularism or Christian values or civilization or Islam "must be defended." Don't let anyone tell you not following a particular Abrahamic book means you have no metaphysical or moral foundation. Defense of abstractions, whether they be books or ideologies, can be necessary. But these same defenses can also quickly turn into a willingness to sacrifice others for the sake of your book or your ideology. There is an African proverb, "when two elephants fight, the grass gets crushed". Today's violent struggles are manmade fights for geo-political and worldly power that have brought untold horror to "the grass" (the people). At this point it is of little utility which elephant crushed whom. Some of us need a more limited focus on local principles of reciprocity and treatment of our neighbor. Some of us need education on what Islam is and what Muslims believe. Some of us need to remember that black Muslims were in America before most white Christians or atheists. Some of us need to stop assuming that a man with a beard and a thobe hates women and gays, or that a woman with a hijab was forced to put it on. Some of us need to be as outraged by violence in Mosul as we are about violence in Paris. Some of us need to stop implying that liberal Muslims are insincere goons and toadies. Some of us need to stop believing that all unbelief is just ingratitude. Some of us need to learn more about our own beliefs, and acknowledge both the good and the bad in them. Some of us need to look within at ourselves and our own civilization before we criticize. Some of us need to remember our debts to atheist freedom fighters like A. Phillip Randolph and W.E.B. Dubois before carping about the evils of atheism. #dailyrant #rantover

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Alesh: "Reveil-The Awakening" via NomadicWax.com

The Reveil video was filmed throughout the DRC, including Kinshasa, Bukavu, Kikwit. However, the core of the music video was filmed in Baniele, an illegal squatter settlement on the outskirts of Kinshasa. Baniele was built on land that is in a constant state of erosion and where a single electrical wire and a single well supports the entire neighborhood of thousands.

Home to another very politically engaged hip-hop artist known as MC Scotty Kanku, Baniele was chosen as the backdrop for the video because it is so representative of the Congolese struggle and experience. “Filming the video was an incredible experience,” said Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson, “I was initially concerned that people would be turned off by the camera and large group of people filming, but the response was quite the opposite. Everyone wanted to talk to us: old women, children, and teenagers. They’re all seen in the video. People saw this as a chance to get their word out.”

“The worst of it all is that instead of pulling us out of the rubble /
you leave us all to suffocate. The number of deaths are too high to count/
much to your amazement /
I've plucked up the courage to say it.”
-Alesh, lyrics from ‘Reveil’

Despite the seriousness of the political situation in the DRC, few people outside of the country have a grasp on the issues faced by the Congolese today. “Congolese, as well as the rest of the world, needs to see what is happening here and why,” says Chirwisa. “I believe that music has the potential to create change and open peoples minds. This is exactly what the goal is with this video.

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Hali Halisi: Rap as Alternative Medium in Tanzania

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Book Review: "East African Hip Hop"

I feel embarassed saying how much I enjoyed this new book from anthropologist Mwenda Ntarangwi. It is not only a delight to read, it is that rare academic book that encourages the hungry reader to search for more information on the topic. Its chronicle of emerging forms of creativity and resistance among youth in East Africa is both inspiring and accessible. Ntarangwi sees local forms of "hip hop" emerging among youth in East Africa as both reflective of global processses of American cultural influence, and at the same time critical of the forces of economic globalization eroding the social and economic outlook of the masses of East African youth. He writes in the Preface, "Rather than seeing hip hop as a completely new cultural phenomenon in East Africa, one is better off seeing it as a window into the culture of change in East Africa's political, economic and social realities created by local and global processes."

Ntarangwi divides his book into five chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of hip hop's social impact in East Africa. Chapters' one and two discuss globalization and hip hop music. Chapter three is a discussion of gender and hip hop. Chapter four explores economic privatization and its impact on the livelihoods of East Africans. Chapter 5 is about hip hop and HIV/AIDS, and in Chapter 6 Ntarangwi offers some concluding remarks. This is not a straightforward history, but an ethnography of hip hop's social influence in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Two things I especially loved about the book: 1) The way in which Ntarangwi centers each chapter around a song, song lyric, or artist that exemplifies his theme. 2) The stories which give a human face to his ethnography and show him wrestling with various dilemmas as an anthropologist in the field.

I've posted videos from East Africa's burgeoning hip hop scene before on this blog, and it seems to be enjoying a growing global spotlight. As I write this, the famous Tanzanian artist Profesa Jay is embarking on a US tour. Other big name Tanzanian and Kenyan hip hop artists have embarked on international tours. But instead of focusing on the "bongo flava" side of East African hip hop--the sugary sweet commercial R&B side to the scene--Ntarangwi focuses on lyricists like Profesa Jay and Ukoo Flani, whose social critique have earned them devoted fans but perhaps less in the way of commercial accolade. As a Prof. Jay fan, I particularly enjoyed Ntarangwi's analysis of Prof. Jay's "Ndio Mzee" (Yes, Elder), a brilliant send up of politicians and their empty promises, and its followup "Kikao cha Dharura" (Emergency Meeting), where the politician who had earlier made such extravagant vows is forced to retract them, stating that the people have unrealistic expectations of luxury. Ntarangwi takes the song apart to show how Profesa Jay critiques local corruption in the state machinery, while remaining aware how these local structures are caught up and in many cases dependent on a global structure of economic dependence.

I anticipate this book will become required reading in many an African Cultural Anthropology class, but it is also a valuable addition to the Hip Hop Studies canon. Furthermore, its clear and readable prose could be a great entryway for high school and college students to talk about issues of cultural and economic globalization through a discussion of hip hop lyrics. Hip hop provides a cultural vantage point that will enhance the local relevance of the discussion for many students, while at the same time making them aware that hip hop is no longer just an American phenomenon but part of a group of interlocking and overlapping global processes that affect their lives in important ways.

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SNK TV: Oman's talents

Sultan and co. are back with these dope short spots about the diverse talents of Omani youth. This is one of my fave! Definitely check SNK TV out on Youtube, Just search for "playsnkmore".

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early X Plastaz "Bamiza"

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Babaluka (Uganda)

Babaluku (Bataka Squad): Obuntubulamu [Official Video w/ English Subtitles] from Nomadic Wax on Vimeo.

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What Is Bongo Flava?

P Funk speaks on the origins of Swahili hip hop.

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Back in Oman

I'm here in Oman working with my colleague and friend Mike Henderson on the Dream Film Project. This film project, in addition to being the product of a lot of vision and hard work on the part of the co-directors, Mike and Sultan, will be (we hope) a window into some aspects of hip hop as a global youth culture. Specifically we will be exploring the ways in which Omani youth use hip hop a a medium of exchange, social bonding and self-representation. We also hope to raise some issues about the tension between "deen" and culture, about how to live Islamically as a young person in an Islamic society and at the same time nurture a love for artistic expression through hip hop and b-boying.

It rained the first two days we were here. The wadis filled up, the streets overflowed, and several people died from doing driving stunts in the flooded wadis. But this week the weather has settled down, highs in the mid-90s and a cool, balmy and beautiful 80-85 degrees at night. We start shooting today with our cinematographer and new cameras courtesy of Innovation Group LLC.

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X plastaz ft FidQ - Furaha

New X-Plastaz.

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Mzungu Kichaa ( its not what you think by the title!)

This is my new JAM!

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X-Plastaz Msimu Kwa Msimu (2004)

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Travels in Oman: Reflections from a Hip Hop Activist

International Developer, Hip Hop Activist, and Social Entrepeneur Michael Henderson Reflects on Hip Hop in Oman

Dear Readers, a dispatch is a report We are very pleased and honored to have as a guest blogger Mr. Michael Henderson, a dynamic young social entrepreneur and a recent graduate of Howard University. Among other things, Mr. Henderson was the brains behind a series of conferences at Howard exploring China’s relationship with Africa. Recently he returned from a research trip to Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He has agreed to share with us his thoughts on the Omani hip hop movement, a subject that is near and dear to me. Please welcome him to the Azanian Sea.

My days in the Sultanate of Oman are triangular. In the morning I wake at 7:00am and an associate and driver take me to (OCIPED) the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development. My driver who lives a few doors down works in the export division. After work my day shifts from suits and loafers to jeans, shades, and t-shirts. As of spring 2006 I help to manage and consult the growing Omani hip-hop movement. I meet aspiring artist and dancers who wait patiently to hear my advice. Currently, I have a theme track under the auspices of music for Omanis’ made by Omanis’ (which is weird considering, I am American); my role is like the invisible hand.

So the song is about a young guy liking a girl and vice-versa, but the culture makes it rather difficult for the relationship to blossom outside of the internet. Thus, the relationship comes alive through technology i.e., face book, chat rooms, email, and text message. Side note: life does imitate art because we can’t seem to finish the song being that the Omani rapper and singer cannot leave her house to record without her brother. (who is on vacation) On the other hand, the other song is a collaboration of all the best rappers in Oman! We are the world: Arab style! I imagine this is a creative way for 1) to increase the fan base of all involved 2) Encourage the rappers to foster a working relationship and perhaps a structure like an independent record label will flow from this initial introduction.

The third piece of my day is spent relaxing, laughing, making noise, and chimpanzing around with my younger brother Fahad, cousins, and his friends he is about 20 years old or so. Most of his friends are mixed Arab and African, so they, like many Omani Swahilis, tend to be a bit more ‘cosmopolitan’ in their outlook. Sometimes they dance “Zaire” and speak Swahili, break-dance, listen to rap, talk about ladies, watch videos, smoke cigarettes, and play music till 4 or 5 in the morning! I would not trade this experience of all these Omani young people in the same hotel room for the world. It is my base, my ear to the streets, and my way to stay close to the heart beat of pop-culture in Oman. This is my diary of the Omani hip hop movement, from the inside.

Of the many b-boy crews in Oman, Serve and Knock (SNK) was the first, and is currently the most respected and well known. I produced a documentary on them a few years back and helped them to perform in the United States for the Arab Cultural Festival, at the Kennedy Center in 2008. Last night I attended the launching of a new cell phone company called Hala Foni which is one of three main mobile companies in the Oman. Hala Foni’s marketing strategy is toward a youth audience, thus the hip hop movement is a key marketing tool for them. The entertainment industry and marketing in Muscat, Oman is big business; more Omanis work in marketing or entertainment than in the U.S. per capita, although Hala Foni is itself a Lebanese company. SNK performed at Halal Foni’s launch and received a standing ovation.

The day before the show what is called a tech rehearsal. SNK was late because many of the dancers were young and did not have transportation so we carpooled. The assistant stage manager yelled, “Get on stage!” when SNK arrived. While they were warming up and stretching she tells them to perform, so, I told her diplomatically “hey these are professional dancers, they will need 5 minutes to warm-up as to not hurt themselves” she responded: “They are late!”

The event was under the guise of an Omani version of American idol, so the audience was filled with maybe 2000 screaming young Omani fans. My overall goal for attending was to foster a relationship with the cell phone company and to gain sponsorship for the Hip-Hop movement. As a direct result of Arab communications patterns and family like social structure, I was able to meet with the CEO of Hala Foni and several of her colleagues. It was a cool set-up, nice couches, sweets, drinks, a waiter, and tucked back stage. We sat and I informed them that 60% of the population in Oman is under the age of 25 and in a country of 2.8 million people with many years of purchasing power ahead of the any marketing strategy must involve youth, and that’s my network! Sponsorship can come in many forms: money, access to logos, introduction, and in this case access to specific resources that are mobile phone based.

Currently, my good friend and the leader of the SNK reportedly have a list/database of 2000+ names, emails, and cell phone numbers of past show attendees. We plan to send mass text messages to inform them of events and ultimately fill any venue with people at a moment’s notice. The underlying factor is the rapid ability to mobilize large groups of Omanis. This can all happen through instant text messages, being that most every person in country has a mobile phone. This is the next stage of the game of course. We will see.

At the moment there is not a leader, structure, or any real focus to the Hip-Hop music craze in Oman. The idea of an independent record label is a revolutionary idea here. It may be my calling at the moment—like Alain Locke blowing in the wind until he found or bumped into the Harlem Renaissance. Oman is in a renaissance! A renaissance of politics, art, culture, in every way since the ruler Sultan Qaboos took power in coup from his father in Salalah, Oman on 1970 at the age of 35.

The unique aspect in reference to the Hip-Hop movement is that it seems to evolve organically from one person’s passion, to small groups, then the underground and finally widespread/mainstream acceptance. The movement started with a vacation trip to Malaysia where an Omani martial artist was amazed at this thing called b-boying, and brought footage from b-boy performances back to Oman. In four years, b-boying has spread like wild fire along with other elements of hip hop culture. I personally met 20 rappers who produce and share their own beats, write songs daily about subjects like reaching one’s goals, their mothers, and tributes to Michael Jackson.


This movement is impressive because it is currently mostly organic and not corporate driven. The growing music scene here mirrors that of both Bongo Flava from Tanzania and Chopped & Screwed from the great state of Texas. In reference to Bongo Flava music, while doing research on Tanzania, I met a television personality who worked in the Embassy in Washington D.C. She explained the history of the movement and how many street kids would sit on wooden logs all day and smoke marijuana, just wasting their lives. So she convinced the television and radio stations to host talent contests. At the talent showcases, Mr. Nice and other musicians where discovered and became internationally acclaimed artists. Ironically, the artists only sing and or rap in Swahili, but sell out concert halls in the United Kingdom!

When I grew up, the most popular rappers either hailed from New York, (Wu-Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, Notorious BIG, and NAS) or California (Snoop Dog, Tupac, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube) and being from Texas we did not have any Hip-Hop artist other than the Ghetto Boyz go nationwide. Many of our local artists worked in grocery stores and car washes, were high school or college students, or sold drugs. Many did not work. They would ride around the neighborhoods day and night playing their music loud, shaking hands, showing love, and free styling. These artists sold music out of their car trunks. They came with their own slang, car modifications, Styrofoam cups, and bald-fade haircuts. When out-of towners came we played our music. Now many famous rappers are nation/world wide (Chamillionare, Pow-Wow, Lil Flip, Slim Thug, and of course Pimp-C and Bun-B).
Oman has the same potential to develop its own unique regional cultural scene, rooted in the diverse cultures and languages of Oman’s past and present. Lastly, some artist to watch out for are “AKD” Alwayz Keep It Deep, “NBS” Natural Born Singer—Joey Jo, SG, and Dan Zak.

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Sauti ya Ghetto (Professor Jay)

New(ish) hip hop from Professor Jay!

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Islam and Music

Afropop magazine brings it again with an interesting interview about music and islam. Below is an excerpt:

B.E.: You also looked into the state of this debate about Islam and music in the contemporary American scene. Tell us about Sheikh Tamer Salim.

J.B.: I wanted to get a local perspective from the Muslim community on how teachings and ideas about music play out among Muslims here in the United States. So I went down to Bensonherst, here in Brooklyn, and visited with a young, up-and-coming cleric, Tamer Salim, 27 years old, three years in this country, fresh from Egypt where he was educated at the prestigious Al Azhar Islamic seminary. Tamer is a good-looking, broad smiling, very warm and engaging spiritual leader who has reached out to monotheistic faiths with a hand of friendship and really gotten himself on the map here in New York as a respected Muslim cleric.

When I asked him about ideas about music within his own congregation, he told me:

Tamer Salim: Actually I am being asked about this issue all the time, because you know it’s very hard to avoid listening to music in this country. So when I came here to the United States, I found the people differing about this issue as well. And I found a group of people who are being raised, or even being born in this country, even those people who received their education in this country, who are following directly the rulings of Saudi Arabia, those people who are extreme when it comes to music and musical instruments. For me personally, I would consider it a very extreme view if you tell people not to listen to music in this country. But at same time, I would adopt the view of those moderate people that not every kind of music is worth listening to. So when the Muslim community would come to me asking about this, I would tell them, “Me personally, I don’t see anything wrong with music as long as the content of the music doesn’t have anything contradicting to Islamic culture, or Islamic law.

J.B.: Sheikh Tamer took pains to distinguish himself from the Salafi position, which has that default restrictive attitude toward so many different types of music. He actually made the point that Islam encourages many forms of art, including music, starting with the recitation of the Koran itself:

Tamer Salim: Allah told us to beautify reading and reciting the Koran. If you listen to the Koran from a good reciter, you would find this kind of beauty. Islam is requiring of us that we never read the Koran without making it beautiful in the ears of the people. We try to sing it in a good way. We try to make it affect the hearts of the people who would listen to it. The same is true of the Azan, which is the call for prayer. And actually, at the time of the prophet, when people wanted to make Azan, the Prophet said, ‘Leave that to Bilal,’ one of the companions of the Prophet. Bilal used to have a very beautiful voice when it came to saying the Azan itself. The Prophet would not let just anybody make the call for prayer. He would choose those people who had beautiful voices in order to have an impact on the hearts and the minds of the people. So we are here encouraged in many ways to listen to the beautiful voices of the people, and Islam is encouraging that.

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X Plastaz--Aha!

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X Plastaz (from Arusha) "Nini dhambi kwa mwenye dhiki" (What is a sin for the needy one...)

What's the offense of the poor?
All my people
East Africa
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya
Dar es Salaam, A town
Wherever you are
Kneel and pray to God
Is this politics, religion, tyranny, slavery, judgement day, Sodom and Gomorrah?
Hold on strong, take a look around each corner
Left, right, front, back, make sure you look everywhere
And if you persist, just listen and be patient, so that you won’t regret later on

This goes out to my people
The cripple, blind, albinos and the insane
Street children, beggars, the poor and those who are mentally sane
This is a thick rope
You should know that we are pulling it against those in power
Fat bellies and cheeks
It’s no longer a fair game
The referee is biased
The field itself is dry
Work is hard to find, payment is little
What’s left is to play the hard way
We’re tired of the upper class, capitalism and dictatorship
This is the time
This is the redemption
And I order that those who are down must get that wine
I tighten the strap of your opponents
I pour poison over them
So that they will scratch themselves without shame
First of all, a salute to those who passed away before us
Second, let’s pray to God
Our father, please give us our daily bread
Fill us with strength
So that we can succeed in the game
When we pass away, the day of judgement
Give us the chance to regret
Because we know that we act evil
We eat forbidden fruits
We use every possible method
Juju or crime...
So that we can get food & clothing
But that shouldn’t be a reason for other people to be robbed of their rights
To prevent us from fulfilling our destiny
To call us infidels and insult us
Because what’s the offense?

Chorus:
What’s the offense of the poor
What’s wrong, what is right
Everyone just wants his destiny
Riddle: stir up the match
You can’t look into the future


Why? Ask the question, if we would all be intellectuals and rich
Who would do the dirty and dangerous work like working in the mortuary
Everyone here in town came for a ‘business’
Everything and everywhere
And even a human skin is for sale
Others are fake witches and wizards
Conmen, illegal travellers
While others are gentle-mannered like the Born-again Christians
In the afternoon offices are buzzing
While the night is hard, prostitutes,
Sugar daddies, criminals, and other things to be covered up
There are those who died when fighting for their lives
Their memories have remained in the graveyard
And there’s those who lost the hope that they will ever win
You’d think they have taken their souls out of mortgage
When they stop you in the road
You have to give them your last remaining salary for this month

(Chorus)

Really, in Tanzania it’s a matter of finding your way
You will regret when you find out that you don’t even have a pair of shorts
Your decision, just hold it like a goalkeeper
And those who you’d depend on until the end will let you drown
You’re not educated, don’t have any special talent
But strength, tongue, economy you have it, you sit on it
Remember
To gain and to loose, it’s all normal
Sometimes you sleep and dream and eat
You drink, you French kiss
And make love to a lovely girl
To your surprise you find that the place is empty
There’s nothing

X Plastaz
In recent years the X Plastaz have become known for being the first hiphop crew to use Maasai music and culture in their performance. Maasai singer Yamat (also known as Merege) is now a full member of the group who has joined on tour and in the recording studio.

X Plastaz grew up up in Arusha, a city in the heart of Maasai land surrounded by steppe, savannah and other climates, most famous for its wild reserves like the Ngorongoro crater. There are many different peoples living in Arusha, and some of them have chosen to preserve their traditional cultures. The Maasai, nomadic cattle herders, live in scattered settlements around the plains surrounding Arusha, while their territory reaches deep into Kenya and south towards Dodoma.

The rappers (themselves of Haya and Pare origin) had been familiar with Maasai culture, but in 1997 when they were invited to stay in a Maasai boma (kraal or settlement) 60 kilometers south of Arusha, they first experienced the uniqueness of the Maasai ways of life. It was in this boma that they noticed the similarities between rap and traditional Tanzanian music, and they decided to look for a way to merge the two.

Yamat & Lesikar
Now that their eyes were opened to the incorporation of local music, X Plastaz teamed up with Lesikar and Yamat (artist name: Merege), two brothers who had enrolled in the Aang Serian cultural conservation project (also see the links page). Lesikar and Yamat are from a small Maasai village to the west of Arusha, quite isolated from the bustling city life. Both grew up in the traditional nomadic way lof life. Yamat is the champion singer of his age group, knowledgeable of all aspects of Maasai singing.

After some practice sessions in which X Plastaz and Yamat tuned in to each other's musical experience, Gsann and Yamat started performing together on a number of occasions around Arusha and Moshi. By January 2001 they had composed two songs which for the first time in history linked up hiphop and Maasai vocal music. Yamat sings exclusively in Maa, a language which sounds quite different from the Swahili and Haya that X Plastaz use.

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K'naan Live at Millenium Stage

Excerpts from an interview by Clayton Perry on BlogCritic Magazine.

Pictures from the Kennedy Center Performance, February 26, 2009

Having traveled the world, you have an international view of hip-hop that a lot of people don't have, for better or worse. Is there a common thread of themes that transcends all continents that you have seen as you travel?

Yeah, there is. There are differences, too. I look at hip hop or any other kind of thing whatever it is — music or otherwise — and I just think you can exhaust that theme no matter what it is. As good as hip hop is, if there is no perspective shift, if there is no feeling of freshness or something new about it, it can kind of just become exhausting. When you go abroad and you see something fresh, it's eye-opening and it's beautiful. The one American perspective that we are all exposed to and the only one that exists is kind of exhausting. However, to the credit of the American form of hip hop, it's great that it is the one-track-minded element that it is, as well, because sometimes in the foreign world you find a corny element, too, that I can't listen to either. You find it rarely — the thread — but you find it. Sometimes it's great and fresh and not corny.

Do you think there will ever be a day when the lines between the labels of mainstream and conscious hip hop would be blurred?

Well, I don't know. I think that's dependent on what success the albums have. For example, my latest album is exactly what that is, but its success will be viewed on how it reaches people. Troubadour has incredible hook-based, melodic music. And lyrically, it's relevant. It has potential to be on the radio, so I don't understand why you can't do both. I think that is the answer to that question – not the only answer, but I certainly think that's one of the answers. It just depends on success.

At what point did you realize that your music had really made an impression upon people?

In 2008, I was playing a string of festivals in the US and I did a show in Honolulu. The turnout was so amazing! The organizers said they had to open up the back of the tent, which is something they never had to do before. At some point in one of my songs, I was singing to this crowd of thousands and I remember about 70% of the crowd singing along. It was amazing, because I haven't had any albums released in the US, at least not widely. I had no radio support, nothing like that. So I didn't understand how they knew the lyrics. It was a real pleasant and incredibly exciting and surprising moment. So much so, I stopped singing in the middle of the show and just started laughing. My band mates were laughing. The crowd didn't know what was going on. I said, "Excuse me, but I just want to ask how you guys know the song." People started cheering and whatever. It was a genuine moment for me, to actually take that moment and realize it and respond to it.

Over the years, you have mentioned three artists as major influences in your career: Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, and Nina Simone. Of these, tell me how one has impacted your life and shaped your career.

I'll take Bob Marley. I think the amount of impact Bob Marley has had on humanity – just what he's sown and how many generations it has changed and how many people it has raised and how many kinds of causes it has fulfilled – I think that is, like, way more than any musician has ever been in the history of music I think. For me, that is one of the great things about life – we have the privilege to live under the banner in which he's created this music and this ideology and his relentless kind of spirit of justice and so on. I see myself as someone who is a humble student of that world. To have a connection to his world, in a way, for me is incredibly humbling. To have recorded my album in his house and work with his family, his friends and so on is a big thing for me.

When did you first fall in love with hip hop?

I had a crush on it from the early stages when I was much younger and listening to Eric B. and Rakim. That world – it was just a crush, infatuation. But when I really fell in love with it and became inextricable from my life was 1993 when the album Illmatic by Nas came out.

What did you admire the most about Illmatic?

I am a poet by nature, and I saw poetry in what Nas was doing. And I saw that a young black man can express and share the incredible intricacies of his own life and out of all the things that surround him. He painted the American black experience and the ghetto experience in such a vivid manner that I thought if that was possible in the English language, then it is possible for me to do that with the English language and paint the African experience.

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I'm on YouTube

Representing SNK crew and hiphop in the Gulf. Check out their Website.

With lyrics:

Woke up in the morning out the bed and let my feet touch the ground,
I got the Canon in my head you know the beat set to pound.
But first I gotta converse with my man
throw on some Chucks bust this verse for SNK and Sultan,
hit the streets of Muscat,
you know the weather is hot
cool out with this track
watching fedha yetu stack.
Tunajaribu kuwaletea kitu freshi sana,
especially lyrics we specialize in putting hurting on ya.

Well representing style we go miles for the freshest dough.
Staying with a smile through my trials I confess through flow
Playing with the fire so the heat will just ignite my soul.

You'll never understand, I'm always over your head, cuz I'm the type of MC that multiplying my bread
and then I stay baking
You stay caking
I roll with SNK man, you know they stay breaking.
And I'm thankful y'all just to be in this booth, you see I'm cold like Duluth
I can melt a polar ice cap like a inconvenient truth.

Check my facts, I was born to rock a crowd
you can call my crew the warrants cuz we serve and knock so loud.
Wondering how? We broke it down, flips headspins and pounds now.
Umetuona sasa, tunashinda kikosi chako, na chukua kwako, wewe huna budi isipokuwa jina lako.
Well we're SNK,.
You gotta pay to play.
Breaking sneakers, breaking posers, breaking knowledge till the break of day,
rivals we slay, so you better come correct.
We got the heaviest artillery we firing from upper deck
and there's one last thing you know its part of the plan
we be on stage with the planet in the palm of our hand
and the night is late, but you know the crowd wanna stay,
everybody throw their hands in the air and scream SNK!
@2008 Nathaniel 'Nader' Mathews

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Hip Hop in Oman

The tourist brochures in Oman promise plenty of Orientalist action; their glossy interiors replete with opportunities for camel riding, authentic Arabian dress, 'experiencing' the desert, and listen to the sounds of the oud as you relax beneath the stars.

But beyond this marketed image of an essentially static, ancient and unchanging Oman lies a more complex reality which the youth of Oman are giving voice to through a unique medium: hiphop.


The history of hiphop's birth and development lies in the Bronx, NY parties Jamaican immigrant DJ Kool Herc used to throw, but today's hiphop has come a long way from those backyard parties. Its a global, multi-billion dollar enterprise, and every marketer wants a piece of the action. Here in Oman, Red Bull now sponsors an annual festival called Lord of the Streets, a massive exhibition of X-games sports, music, and energy drinks. This year's festival attracted a record crowd of young people. I went, pen and tape recorder in hand, to find out if this was merely the product of the mind of a marketing genius or an authentic indigenous expression of hiphop culture.


For marketers in general, Oman has a vast potential. With a brand new infrastructure, steady economic growth, and a ballooning youth population, its no wonder that Red Bull chose to stage a festival here. Hiphop is a global culture, and the history of Oman exemplifies this global flavor: in the parking lot two guys perform freestyle battle raps in Swahili. Malikah, an up and coming female MC from Lebanon, delivers spitfire lines in Arabic to the eager crowd of Swahili, Pakistanis, Indians, expatriate Europeans, and myself. "Raise your hand if you love Red Bull," yelled the host. In the parking lot, Ali Hamed Al-Lawati and his friends explained, "We love hip hop, you know we just try to represent to the fullest extent. Ali heard R&B and started to write lyrics. I joined together with my brother and we formed a group. Big Pun is one of my inspirations as well as Tupac, Notorious BIG."

Qassim, Ali's brother, added, "I am originally from Sur, but I work in Muscat. We knew about hip hop now 7 or 8 years. At that time I was in deep shit.I met with my niggas over here all the way from Wadi Kabir. I thought I was the only one who was doing this, but accidentally I found out my neighbor loved hiphop." Eighteen year-old Kita Rise Up from Bling Boys crew told me, "I love Eminem records on the TV. I used to draw….I didn’t have time to draw so I just wrote something one day and I rhymed it."

I asked a number of people in the crowd how hiphop and Islam 'fit' together; did they see any contradiction. "I think the leaders of Islam are totally against it, and if they could stop it they would. But me I am not an extremist, I have my limits. There is deen and there is dunia," opined Nawaf, 23, from Muscat. Added Qassim, "Sometimes it doesn’t fit but we try to fit it. We don’t believe rappers have to sell weed or anything. We don’t have tattoos or none of that. Its hiphop its bringing the whole nation together." Sultan Khalfan, the co-founder of SNK crew, one of the original Omani b-boy crews, agreed, "Hip hop didn't change who we were, except to make us more athletic and fit. We pray, and we try to show Oman a good image of this artform."

Kita, who has his own crew known as Rise Up Bling Boys, had his opinion on hiphop in the Middle East in general, "Hiphop is strange for us as an Arabian people, so everyone has their own style. For me, I dream that hiphop can be better than this. In the US its like perfect, here its like less than bad. I know people that spent 18 years on this rap music. We need change and we are Muslims, so the music must be clean."

And what is the attraction of hiphop? "Its always about giving opportunities for kids to express themselves," added Malcolm Marquez, who has lived in the Middle East from three years and is originally from Australia. Marquez, a talented and energetic MC who placed second in the Freestyle Rap Battle, also b-boys and paints. He felt hiphop was a 'cleansing' force: "Kids need a way to cleanse aggression. They need to be given a chance to say whatever they want from their heart and mind...we gotta see the bad and the ugly."


The event, which was held in the parking lot of Muscat's largest mall, was coordinated by Ahmed Deek, a Lebanese businessman living in Dubai. "We are changing the mind of Arab people about hiphop," he explains. "The event actually started in Dubai in 2006. We started with sports like BMX, inline skating, and then we saw potential for b-boying. We brought it to the b-boys we knew and asked them, what do you need to do hiphop?" According to Deek, although many people were originally hesitant, shy, or scared to support, the vision for the festival kept growing.

Although Deek emphasized that they had no problem with the local authorities, the festival came grinding to an abrupt halt in a "thats-so-hiphop" moment" involving the police inquiring about the permit for our site. Apparently there had been complaints. But the party did not stop. We moved on to the Holiday Inn for the Freestyle battle finals in rap and b-boying.

The energy and talent on display was truly impressive, and the conversations continued long after the show ended at 3:00 in the morning. I sat down with three b-boys to get an idea of the history of Omani b-boy culture: Zillahunt Cyphaz,B-Boy Balong, and Sultan Khalfan.



"First of all, explained SNK member Zillahunt Cyphaz, "its called b-boying, its not breakdancing, that was the name Hollywood gave it. You start with rhythm, flavor, and foundation…from there you make up your own style and your own flavor. that’s how you make your name in the scene. Me I b-boy because I love it. Before some of us were doing football, martial arts, streetball and other different athletics."

Hiphop in Oman according to various SNK members, has enjoyed a fantastic growth. Since 2006 there have been major changes; From three serious crews there is now triple that. Even young kids are doing it. All this from a DVD that one of the crew, Abdu Salaam, brought from Malaysia in 2001. In Malaysia Abdu Salaam had been exposed to the growing b-boy movement; he brought back with him the DVD of Battle of The Year 2000, the World Cup for breaking. Says Sultan, "We watched the video and we saw flips, windmills, head spins, and we said, we HAVE to try this!"

Sultan and Abdu made copies of the DVD for their circle of friends and in no time they and three others were practicing all the time, trying to imitate the moves in the DVD. One of the crew members studied at the French Institute and gave SNK its performance debut at a talent show for the students there. After the show, according to Sultan, they were approached with many other offers to perform. A couple shows later, and some were suggesting the fledgling (and nameless) crew could get paid to perform.

The name SNK stands for Serve and Knock; the moniker originally came from the video game company. "I used to win at every videogame I played," remembers Sultan, "especially SNK games." At the end of 2002, Sultan told the crew he wanted to name them SNK. They finally had a name to add to their growing reputation.

After four years of doing shows locally and adding to their reputation, 2005 saw SNK breakers enter their first b-boy competition, in Dubai at a Motor Show. They placed second. The following year they traveled to Bahrain and won 1st place in the "Bring It On," freestyle battle.
"The Bahrain competition really put us on the map because we represented Oman and people back here were very excited and happy to see us doing so well." Back in Oman, they started to get publicity from Omani magazines like The Week, Hi, and several major newspapers. At the end of 2006, they even caught the eye of a BBC producer who saw their frontpage spread in The Week. The BBC wanted to interview the crew but were concerned about copyright issues surrounding the SNK logo, and asked Sultan about the origins of the crew's name.
"I basically came up with Serve and Knock at that point," he remembers, "because the BBC wanted us to flip our shirts over, and I and to convince them that we were not copying the company logo."


So what is the future of hiphop in Oman? B-Boy Balong was optimistic, "So far its going the right way, if it keeps going like this, then it can become very known, like having events like every few days."
Added Zillahunt, "Oman is going the right way. Over in Bahrain, people know about hiphop but they don’t know the real hiphop; its just commercial. In Oman b-boying is the strongest element…if it wasn’t for some underground MCs and the bboys, hiphop would have been dead for real…like Rakim, up to now he is still holding it down."

Next SNK has their sights on becoming a truly global b-boy crew. After a visit from Howard University Alum Michael Henderson, SNK met with the famous choreographer and dancer Debbie Allen, who subsequently invited them to audition for an Omani cultural showcase at the Kennedy Center in March 2008. They will be the first dancing group traveling to the United States to represent Oman.

SNK had not been without their doubters in some circles. Some people inevitably saw their activities as un-Islamic. Indeed, they were not originally invited to audition for Debbie Allen's show, but after they finished the other Omanis were shocked to discover that they too were Omani. But the attention has been mostly positive after seeing how SNK conducts themselves—clean living, praying regularly, and encouraging each other in the spirit of brotherhood.
"No offense but the government looks at sports that never bring positive results but never notice the sports that are putting these countries on the map. Nobody knows the dancing team but they are raising Bahrain’s name up. Now in Korea they have meetings with the ministry about doing diff events across the nation. They really take care of hiphop," said Zillahunt.

He added, "We are not going to go in a negative way but we will just be positive because hiphop doesn’t bring enemies. Hiphop is peaceful, like religion it brings us like brothers. Hiphop is in the blood. Through bboying respect comes between nations. Its not peaceful its superpeaceful. We are always brothers."

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