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A number of hip hop artists in the United States are followers of Islam. Although some Muslims believe some or most forms of music are haram, these artists do not necessarily consider themselves as practicing orthodox Muslims.
The teachings of the Five-Percent Nation were extremely influential for prominent Islamic hip hop artists like Big Daddy Kane and Rakim. [1] Founded in Harlem in the 1960s, the Five-Percent Nation was created by Clarence 13X, a former member of the Nation of Islam (NOI). Five Percenter teachings popularized many expressions to hip-hop and hip-hop culture such as "dropping science", "What up God," and "word is bond".
Rakim (born William Griffin) was one of the earliest hip-hop artists to incorporate references to Islam into their work.[ citation needed ] He later became a Five Percenter, adopting the name Rakim-allah.[ citation needed ] Big Daddy Kane is also a Five-Percenter, [2] having been introduced to the movement in high school. In his song "Just Rhymin' with Biz" (with Biz Markie), he states that the "Kane" in his name stands for "King Asiatic, Nobody's Equal," an allusion to the Five-Percent Nation's teaching that the original man was an Asiatic Black man. [3] His other works also contain references to Islam and other Five Percent Nation teachings; for example, the final verse of Kane's 1988 hit "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" explicitly conveys his connection to Islam: "Hold up the peace sign, as salaam alaikum!" [4] Later, his 1989 song "Mortal Combat" referenced the Supreme Mathematics. Kane also samples a Louis Farrakhan speech in his 1989 song "Young, Gifted, and Black". In his song "Beginning to end, from Knowledge to Born", Kane references Supreme Mathematics.[ citation needed ]
Lakim Shabazz was an MC during the 1980s who derived his name from the Tribe of Shabazz. Lakim Shabazz was influenced by Islam, specifically the teachings of the Five Percent Nation, as reflected in his rap, such as in the song "Black is Back". The song encourages African-Americans to recognize their greatness and fight for freedom, justice and equality, as emphasized in the lyrics: "You say it's gonna be hard, but I'm with God, I got the proof and truth, and now it's time to get loose."
Hip hop producer Afrika Islam trained extensively under Afrika Bambaataa for several years, and both worked extensively with the Zulu Nation, [5] an organization originally developed to use hip hop to stop violence and spread peace. As time passed, the Zulu Nation drew increasingly heavily from the Nation of Islam's teachings, sharing the organization's principles with its members. [6]
The early 1990s saw the development of more politically charged, afrocentric, and militant hip hop;[ citation needed ] references to Islam became more explicit, typically paired with calls for political and social justice. [7] Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was praised by artists like Public Enemy, while albums by Wu-Tang Clan and Busta Rhymes referenced the Five-Percent Nation.
Ice Cube was born in Los Angeles, and became best known as a member and key lyricist of Compton-based group Niggaz With Attitude (N.W.A), notably writing the group's track "Straight Outta Compton" in 1988. [8] His solo debut, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted , touched on social issues like poverty, racism, drug addiction, and general critiques of American society. In the early 1990s, Ice Cube converted to Islam. When asked about his faith he stated, "I mean, what I call myself is a natural Muslim, because it's just me and God." [8] On his 1991 album Death Certificate , Ice Cube samples excerpts of a speech made by Khalid Abdul Muhammad.
Mos Def (real name Dante Smith) was born in Brooklyn; his father was a member of Nation of Islam, and he became a part of the community of Imam Warithdeen Muhammad, son of Elijah Muhammad, the group's founder. "I got my first exposure to Islam when I was 13," he said. "My dad taught me how to make wudhu ", the ritual ablution Muslims perform before prayer. [9] At 19 he took the shahada , the Muslim declaration of faith. [9] He formed a group with his siblings called Urban Thermo Dynamics before launching a solo career, and then became part of a hip hop collective with the Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest called the Native Tongues. He later began working with Talib Kweli as Blackstar, and his music took a sociopolitical turn. [9] In 1999 he released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides . The first words spoken on this album were "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem", translating to "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful."
Q-Tip (real name: Jonathan Davis) was born in Harlem in 1970, and grew up in Queens, where he went to school with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi White, with whom he formed the group A Tribe Called Quest. Their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm was released in 1990. Davis converted to Islam in 1994 and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. [10] Before converting he had been agnostic. [11] Kamaal released his debut solo album in 1999. [12] His colleague in A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, is also a devout Muslim. [13] His debut solo album Shaheedullah and Stereotypes was released in 2004. [14]
Nation of Islam Minister Conrad Tillard became known as the "Hip-Hop Minister", as he both criticized hip hop lyrics, and defused potentially violent feuds between rappers. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] He appears in the documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes . [21] In the 1990s and early 2000s, Tillard was an outspoken critic of hip hop lyrics that he perceived as degrading and dangerous to the black community, saying such lyrics suggested "that we are penny-chasing, Champagne-drinking, gold-teeth-wearing, modern-day Sambos, pimps and players." [22] He argued that in seeking to emulate the lyrics in gangsta rap, young Black Americans became victims of mass incarceration, violence, sexual exploitation, and drug crime. [15]
In the 1990s, Tillard started an organization called A Movement for C.H.H.A.N.G.E. ("Conscious Hip Hop Activism Necessary for Global Empowerment"), to advocate for "conscious hip hop activism", voter registration and education, community organizing, and social empowerment for black youth. [23] [24] [25] [26] He criticized hip-hop lyrics that portrayed black communities in the United States as degenerate. He also criticized the businessmen who supported that approach. He feuded with Def Jam founder Russell Simmons in 2001, accusing him of stoking violence by allowing the frequent use of words such as "nigga" and "bitch" in rap lyrics. [25] [22] [27]
Tillard arranged a meeting and a truce in a feud between rising bands Wreckx-N-Effect and A Tribe Called Quest. [28] [29] [25] [17] He also counseled Sean "Diddy" Combs during his feud with rival Suge Knight, and criticized him for what he saw as his mistreatment of Shyne Barrow. [29] [25] [30]
After the drive-by shooting murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, Tillard organized a "Day of Atonement" event to oppose violent themes in hip-hop music, promote unity, and celebrate Shakur's life. [15] He invited artists including A Tribe Called Quest, The Notorious B.I.G., Chuck D with Public Enemy, Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa, model Bethann Hardison, actor Malik Yoba, and Bad Boy Records president Sean Combs. There were an estimated 2,000 attendees. [15] [31] [32]
Tillard also criticized the Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders, calling them "hired guns" for not condemning rappers Sean Combs or Shyne Barrows. [33] Tillard organized another summit at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem on 125th Street, focused on what he perceived as negative imagery in hip hop. Def Jam Recordings founder Russell Simmons organized a counter-summit, urging the public not to support "open and aggressive critics of the hip-hop community". [16]
Freeway converted to Islam when he was 14 years old, and has said Islam is "my core, it's my soul, it's my everything". [34] Beanie Sigel converted to Islam early in his life and came to the faith through his knowledge of the Five-Percent Nation. His lyrics contain frequent references and allusions to his faith, including the conflicting values of his communities. [35] Bay Area rapper The Jacka also rapped about his Muslim faith. [36]
Some hip-hop artists of this period were raised as Muslims abroad before moving to the United States, including Akon (raised in Senegal), [37] French Montana (Morocco), [38] and Sheck Wes (Senegal). The latter's hit "Mo Bamba" was inspired by a Tijani Saint. [39] [40]
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop and merging jazz with hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.
The Low End Theory is the second studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on September 24, 1991, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album were held mostly at Battery Studios in New York City, from 1990 to 1991. The album was primarily produced by group member Q-Tip, with a minimalist sound that combines bass, drum breaks, and jazz samples, in a departure from the group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990). Lyrically, the album features social commentary, word play, humor, and interplay between Q-Tip and fellow member Phife Dawg.
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
The Five-Percent Nation, sometimes referred to as the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE/NOGE) or the Five Percenters, is an Afro-American Nationalist movement influenced by Islam that was founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, by Clarence 13X, who was previously known as Clarence Edward Smith.
Midnight Marauders is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album occurred at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios and Scorcerer Sound in New York City. Its production was mainly handled by Q-Tip, with contributions from Skeff Anselm, Large Professor and the group's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A culmination of the group's two previous albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, it features an eclectic, gritty sound based on jazz, funk, soul and R&B samples, in addition to socially conscious, positively-minded, and humorous lyrics.
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990 on Jive Records. After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on several projects, A Tribe Called Quest began recording sessions for People's Instinctive Travels in late 1989 at Calliope Studios with completion reached in early 1990. The album's laid back production encompassed a diverse range of samples which functioned as a template for the group's unorthodox lyrics.
William Michael Griffin Jr., better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. He is one half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: Paid in Full (1987), Follow the Leader (1988), Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (1990), and Don't Sweat the Technique (1992). He also released three solo albums: The 18th Letter (1997), The Master (1999), and The Seventh Seal (2009).
Wreckx-n-Effect is an American new jack swing group from Harlem, New York City most known for their No. 1 Rap songs, "New Jack Swing" & their multi-platinum hit "Rump Shaker".
Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on July 30, 1996, by Jive Records, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful Midnight Marauders. Produced by The Ummah, the album is a departure from the joyful, positive vibe of the group's earlier albums and is regarded as their darkest album in content. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 27, 1998.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998 before disbanding; their final album was released in 2016. A native of Brooklyn, New York, as of 2020, Muhammad lived in Los Angeles.
Golden age hip hop refers to mainstream hip hop music created from the mid or mid-late 1980s to the early or early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. A precursor to the new-school hip hop movement, it is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence on overall hip hop after the genre's emergence and establishment in the old-school era, and is associated with the development and eventual mainstream success of hip hop. There were various types of subject matter, while the music was experimental and the sampling from old records was eclectic.
Taqwacore is a subgenre of punk music dealing with Islam, its culture, and interpretation. Originally conceived in Michael Muhammad Knight's 2003 novel, The Taqwacores, the name is a portmanteau of "hardcore" and the Arabic word "taqwa" (تقوى), which is usually translated as "piety" or the quality of being "God-fearing", and thus roughly denotes reverence and love of the divine. The scene is composed mainly of young Muslim artists living in the US and other Western countries, many of whom openly reject traditionalist interpretations of Islam, and thus live their own lifestyle within the religion or without.
Michael Muhammad Knight is a white American novelist, essayist, journalist, and convert to Islam. His writings are popular among American Muslim youth. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "one of the most necessary and, paradoxically enough, hopeful writers of Barack Obama's America," while The Guardian has described him as "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature," and his non-fiction work exemplifies the principles of gonzo journalism. Publishers Weekly describes him as "Islam's gonzo experimentalist." Within the American Muslim community, he has earned a reputation as an ostentatious cultural provocateur.
Larry Welsh, also known as Lakim Shabazz is a former hip-hop emcee artist who was one of the founding members of the original version of the Flavor Unit crew. His stage name refers to the so-called Lost Tribe of Shabazz, which is based on the teachings of Wallace Fard Muhammad.
Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, formerly known as Mosque No. 7, is a Sunni Muslim mosque in Harlem, New York City. It was formerly a Nation of Islam mosque at which Malcolm X preached, until he left it for Sunni Islam in 1964.
African-American Muslims, also colloquially known as Black Muslims, are an African American religious minority. African American Muslims account for over 20% of American Muslims. They represent one of the larger minority Muslim populations of the United States as there is no ethnic group that makes up the majority of American Muslims. They are represented in Sunni and Shia denominations as well as smaller sects, such as the Nation of Islam. The history of African-American Muslims is related to African-American history in general, and goes back to the Revolutionary and Antebellum eras.
"Forbidden Fruit" is a song by American hip hop recording artist J. Cole. The song was sent to radio stations in August 2013, as the third official single from Cole's second studio album, Born Sinner (2013). "Forbidden Fruit" was produced by Cole himself and features a guest appearance from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, who contributes vocals to the song's hook. The song features a sample of American jazz musician Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew", most recognized from its use on hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation". The song was met with mixed reviews from music critics. "Forbidden Fruit" would peak at number 46 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Wakeel Allah is an American author, and a member of the Nation of Islam. He is best known for his books In the Name of Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and the Five Percenters Vol. 1, and his subsequent book In the Name of Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and the Five Percenters Vol. 2.
Conrad Bennette Tillard is an American Baptist minister, radio host, activist, politician, and author.
