We Can Thank Islam for Hip Hop

To many people, “Islamic hip hop” sounds like an oxymoron. Islam is associated with strict values, tyrannical leaders, anti-fun and anti-western ideas. When people think of hip hop the association is with partying, sexuality, materialism and a hedonistic structure. The reality is that the two are innately intertwined and the foundation of these two cultures is no where near what people commonly associate them with. Harry Allen, a hip hop activist also known as Public Enemy’s “Media Assassin” said “if hip hop had a religion it’s Islam.”

The tie between Islam and hip hop is deeper than the music. According to Adisa Banjoko, unofficial ambassador of Muslim hip hop, “Muslim influence was at the ground floor of hip hop,” Banjoko said. “Hip hop came from the streets, from the toughest neighborhoods, and that’s always where the Muslims were.”

Let’s take it back to the birth of hip hop. Many credit DJ Kool Kerk and Grandmaster Flash for creating hip hop but this genre has roots that go back even further than that. The Last Poets, a group of black radicals in the 1960s with Muslim influence, began making politically aware music that played with spoken word delivery and rhyme structure that is consistent with hip hop music. Halal Nuriddin and Suleiman El-Hadi, the Muslims of the Last Poets, combined their undersanding of Islam with powerful messages about the harsh reality of being Black in America. This is where real hip hop began.

The Last Poets were the original hip hop activists. They combined their music with direct action, including affiliation with the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and the Black Panthers. They used poetry to satirize American society and how it opposed their religion and community.

The Last Poets went on to inspire generations of hip hop to come. Hip hop artists Common, Nas and Dead Prez have all featured the Last Poets on their albums.

You may recall hip hop legend Biggie Small’s hit song, “Party and Bullshit.” This line has been recycled time and time again and many people don’t even know where it came from. Well, this line actually came from the Last Poets’, “When the Revolution Comes.”

The Last Poets refer to “party and bullshit” as a criticism of what people were doing to procrastinate the revolution in the Civil Rights Era. Today, many people look at “party and bullshit” in a lighter way, consistent with the stereotypical view that hip hop is shallow and irresponsible.

An effort to educate people on the connection between Islam and hip hop is seen at the Return of the Mecca: The Art of Islam and Hip Hop exhibit at William Grant Still Arts Center in Los Angeles.

The exhibit includes art, photography, newspaper clippings, videos and music documenting the history between Islam and hip hop. Erykah Badu, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Nas, Mos Def and A Tribe Called Quest are all represented in the exhibit. The tie between Islam and hip hop is deeper than the music. The exhibit displays the history of Islam and hip hop’s relationship, especially prevalent in the Civil Rights Era.

Why is it that two extremely correlated cultures are seen as complete opposites? I spoke with Ami Motevalli, the director of the William Grant Still Arts Center for some insight.

“When you hear about hip hop artists there’s not a connection between spirtuality in general,” Motevalli said. “At a certain point hip hop became so marketable that it was used to push marketing agendas. Selling materialistic things.”

Mainstream media consistently witholds a warped perception on Islamic culture in general, even if intended to serve a religious, non violent purpose.

“Occasionally, if you do hear spirituality in hip hop there’ll be some excuse made for extrodinarily violent hip hop and then link it back to Islam unfortunately.” Motevalli said.

Hip hop culture and Islamic culture are both misrepresented by mainstream and media. This similarity is part of what brings them together. Generally people don’t understand the correlation between Islam and hip hop, much less that Islam is where hip hop came from.