"Mathematics," Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) (1999) It's actually part of their new album, which is also really great. This Muslim punk band originally formed in Boston, and their name literally means "scoundrels." If you want to see them at their most scoundrel-ey and fun, you should watch their video for " See Something Say Something," which is a pretty hilarious takedown of Islamophobia. "High Noon," The Kominas (2010)Īnother band I discovered after we interviewed them back in July. Try and stop me.Ĭan they be a thing again already? I miss them.
Okay, technically not all of the members of 'A Tribe Called Quest' are Muslim, but two of them are (Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad) so they're on my list. "Can I Kick It?" A Tribe Called Quest (1999) Her style has been compared to Feist and Norah Jones, among others. Plus, she's collaborating with Usher on an upcoming song to be released in February. Her music is a little of everything - pop, acoustic folk and R&B. She's a pretty huge Muslim feminist fashion icon back in Malaysia, where she's from. I discovered Yuna doing research for this piece, but she's an absolute piece of sunshine and everyone should listen to her. I put a few of my other favorites later in the playlist, so make sure to check them out. Recently, he's been much more political, grappling with racial and economic inequality. "Take Me Home," which came out in 2007, is definitely one of his older and softer songs. If the core of who I am is rooted in the same divine reality as everyone else’s basic reality, then the more I am able to penetrate and express my innermost feelings, the more that I’ll be able to connect with everyone else.” “Islam made me believe that all human beings are created with an intrinsic goodness and desire to connect with greater world," he said in a recent interview with The Islamic Monthly. "When you start there, the possibilities are endless. He speaks often about the role his faith plays in his music: He converted to Islam when he was 15 years old growing up in Minneapolis. This is one of those songs you listen to and realize everything is going to be okay.īrother Ali is one of a kind. I challenge anyone to not smile at his deadpan delivery of the line "Iraq is the new black." 2. Want an example? Check out the video for " P.H.A.T.W.A." which is about being racially profiled at the airport.
His music - which deals a lot with the experience of being young, Arab and Muslim in a post-9/11 world - draws both hip-hop fans and peace activists alike. He was born in Dubai to Iraqi parents, and was raised in the United Arab Emirates and Canada. I've been listening to Yassin Alsalman nonstop since we interviewed him a few months ago. Here, then, is a guide to a few Muslim musicians based in the US (OK, and Canada, we cheated) who you should be listening to.
That list is sprawling, and includes names like Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson - among many others. Malik is far from the only musician we would have to listen to from afar. Yeah, you heard me right One Direction fans. We wouldn't have Aziz Ansari, who was raised as a Muslim. Malcolm X woud be absent from our history books. What would my country look like if we turned Muslims away at the border? As someone who understands the world through pop culture, a few famous names came to mind.įirst off, we would have to say goodbye to sports legends like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal. That was my first reaction last week, after I heard about Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's proposal for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." What would the US look like without Muslims?