Salome MC: the first female rapper of Iran
Intermittently, I will post new artist profiles at The Kitchen Sink Approach, and across my social media. I’d like to start with Salome MC, a brilliant, powerful, and compassionate human who is creating positive change through her art, music, music production and community building.
I met Salome in October 2020 at the Rockland Residency, where we, along with a grip of beautiful creatives in various mediums were awarded three weeks in the Rockland Woods to work on our respective art.
Salome MC is an Iranian musician, record producer, peace activist and multimedia artist. She is the first female rapper of Iran, and the first woman to compose and produce hip-hop music in her home country. She holds a B.A. in Design from Iran and M.A. in Audio/Visual Arts from Japan. In 2016, Salome moved to Washington State where she has been working as a HipHop educator for underserved youth. She is also a peace activist who advocates for better relations between Iran and the U.S., and is on the advisory board of Code Pink, a pro-peace women’s grassroots organization. She has published essays on the topic of militarism, white gaze, and motherhood. Salome is the recipient of 2009 Female Change Maker Award, 2010 MEXT scholarship and 2018 Artist Trust Fellowship Award, and her work has been featured in the Guardian, Time Magazine and MTV.
What are you working on now?
“Seven Climes”, a genre-bending music compilation I am producing as a nod to the complex heritage I carry as a recent Iranian immigrant to the United States. It will feature hip-hop instruments fused with folk/traditional/classical Iranian music from seven different regions of the country with their distinct culture, language and music forms. “Identity” as a theme will be at the core of this album, as I am collaborating with seven rappers from the respective regions who rap/sing in a language, dialect or accent other than standard Farsi, which is the official, national language known by all citizens.
What art in the world are you excited about right now (any medium/genre)?
The first three episodes of The Expanse’s 5h season just dropped and I am very excited to binge watch them tonight. Ever since I read the Farsi translations of all Jules Verne books as a ten year old, I’ve been a huge SciFi fan.
What have you learned in 2020 that is informing your work going forward?
That we are fragile. The world we’ve built is very fragile. How damn lucky we are that this virus isn’t really THAT bad? We could’ve been wiped out. And there’s a teeny tiny virus out there that CAN wipe us all out.
Is there anything else you would like to add
If you’re reading this, drop everything and make yourself a warm, comforting cup of tea.
How can people support your work/ projects?
For more, visit Salome MC’s website: www.salomemc.com, and follow her work on Instagram.
