Deen Defined
Last fall, in response to Iggy Azalea’s supposedly less-than-deserved success, Muslim hip-hop artist Alia Sharrief released “Black Heroes,” featuring Aminah Bell. The video, displaying a roll call of powerful figures from Marcus Garvey to Sister Souljah, blasts those who would allow greed to blind them to black history. In contrast to the video vixens who still proliferate hip-hop, Sharrief and Bell appear in hijab, ready to re-educate with Sharrief’s rolling rhymes and bold challenges. This spring, Sharrief put together the first event by the Hijabi Chronicles, a growing collective of female Muslim artists in the East Bay. With everything that has happened since then, misconceptions about Islam — particularly with respect to women’s roles — are blooming with renewed virulence. The work of Hijabi Chronicles, to create forums where Muslimahs might speak for themselves, are more important than ever. Their second event, Muslim Women in HipHop: Expressions of Resistance, features seven poets, two fashionistas, a storyteller, a journalist, a graffiti artist, and at least four MCs, including Asa Lianess, Poesia Mariarte, and Sharrief.
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