Sofia Baig: Daughter of the Sand Album out now!

Remember Sofia Baig, the amazing spoken word artist I mentioned in a past post? Well, she recently came out with her first album! It's titled "Daughter of the Sand"

So, I suggest you visit her site: http://www.sofiabaig.com and listen to her stuff (if you haven't already) aaand if you like what you hear then support this sis and order her cd! Seriously, $15 for some insightful thoughts - which are hard to come around these days - sounds like a good deal to me.

Salaam and happy listening!

Not Your Erotic, Not Your Exotic - Suheir Hammad

Another powerful Muslim sister! Suheir Hammad is a Palestinian-American poet, activist, and author
she's AMAZING.
I love her casual-yet-oh-so-powerful style.



"Exotic" - Suheir Hammad

Don't wanna be your exotic
Like some delicate fragile colorful
bird imprisoned caged in a
land foregin to the stretch of her wings

Don't wanna be your exotic
women everywhere look just
like me some taller darker
nicer than me but like me
Just the same women everywhere
carry my nose on their faces
my name on their spirits

Don't seduce yourself with my
otherness
the beat of my lashes
against each other ain't some
dark desert beat it's just
a blink get over it

Don't build around me
your fetish fantasy your
lustful profanity to
cage me in clip my wings

Don't wanna be your exotic
your loving of my beauty ain't
more than funky fornication
plain pink perversion in
fact nasty necrophilia
because my beauty is dead
to you
I am dead to you

Not your harem girl
geisha doll banana picker
pom pom girl poom poom short
coffee maker town whore
belly dancer private dancer
la malinche venus hottentot
laundry girl your immaculate
vessel emasculating princess
don't wanna be
not your erotic not your exotic


My favorite line is "it's just a blink - get over it" huzzah! She's discussing the sexual exploitation of women of color. The concept of "orientalism" is very strong in this poem too, and if you don't know what that is, then I suggest you do some reading. I could attempt to explain on here, but it's quite lengthy and I, myself don't have a strong grasp on it. It's along the lines of how the West views everyone from the East as "the other" or "them" as inferiors... this is where being "exotic" and all that steps in. Definitely is a heavy subject - but as Muslim-Americans, we are going to come across orientalist comments many times in our lifetimes, so it's best to be knowledgeable about it!

Salaam

Awesome Muslimah Rap Goup - Poetic Pilgrimage

I came across a Muslimah rap group called Poetic Pilgrimage today, and wow they're powerful. plus they have cute English accents. Their lyrics are inspirational - and we could always do with more of those! I'll leave the deeets to the article below:

Sukina Douglas and Muneera Williams are Muslim artists with an edge. Long-time friends from England, the two have worked together for five years uniting Hip Hop and poetry. Their art has led to the creation of the group Poetic Pilgrimage. It allows them to speak out honestly and passionately about life: life as Muslims, life as black women, life in general. Their intention is to represent the under-represented. “I think hip hop in general has a negative light,” says Sukina. “We stick to the fact that hip hop didn’t start like that - it’s about providing a voice for the voiceless. It’s representing injustice. There’s a common term that hip hop is black people’s CNN. That’s how we see it.”

Since the inception of Poetic Pilgrimage, Sukina and Muneera have seen many changes in their lives, and their work has been a constant reflection of this. One of the most significant was their conversion to Islam in 2005. “Although we embraced Islam, we had many preconceptions about Islam and performing as women,” says Muneera, explaining they were not sure if they’d ever rap again. “We wanted to make sure we were doing it (rapping) for the right reasons.” Through the encouragement of other Muslim artists, they decided to continue their journey as hip hop artists, incorporating Allah into their work.

Their decision to continue rapping as Muslim women was empowering for many, however some older generations were not as accepting. “It’s like these two girls come in and are mixing Hijab with hip hop” says Sukina. “Islam and hip hop – does it work?” Although frustrating at times, Muneera says she’s learned to handle the criticism. “I used to get fired up about it, but now I just try to put it aside. I just think it’s frustrating because the people we’re trying to represent are shutting us down. It can be disheartening.”

Despite some controversy, Muneera and Sukina say the majority of their work is well-received, and not just by the Muslim community. They once got an email from a gay Christian man, explaining how their work has inspired him. “We were like ‘what’? That’s not really who we have in mind when we’re writing our rhymes, but I think when you put something out and you create it, it doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to the world.”

As for the future of Poetic Pilgrimage, the women say they’ll continue fine-tuning their craft to represent people of all backgrounds who don’t have a voice. “Art has the ability to transcend any barriers: culture, religion, it doesn’t matter what the differences are. Art is art, music is music. If you like it, you like it, if you don’t you don’t" (from pearlsoftheworld.ca)

Here's a preview (this one's not on their myspace) :



check out more of their stuff on their myspace
and if you like it, support them by buying their upcoming EP Freedom Times
and tell your friends, of course!

salaam

Powerful Muslim Sister - Sofia Servando Baig

My friend Supreet introduced me to the work of Sofia Servando Baig a while back. She is 19 and is a spoken word poet from Montreal, Canada - she has recited her poetry at the ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Conference which was held in Chicago, Toronto's MuslimFest, and she also took part in the Muslim HipHop tour "HipHop4Islam". I think one of the most powerful qualities a person can have is eloquence, and this girl CAN WRITE! Here's what she said about her poetry in an interview: "All my poems are personal and are a reflection of how I feel as a Muslim, as a woman, as a sister, as a daughter, as a result of my place in society. I speak about what i know and I don't speak about what I don't know."


check out her poetry on her myspace
<-- click that.
Salaam!