The Hijabi Chronicles: Muslim women enter hip-hop arena

Group leader says she rhymes about helping people, protesting and speaking up for humanity


Web Desk May 20, 2015
PHOTO: HUFFINGTON POST

CALIFORNIA: From Lauren Hill to Missy Elliot, women have long been making strides in hip-hop, breaking stereotypes that the genre is male-centric.

In the same vein, a group of Muslim women who call themselves The Hijabi Chronicles have stepped up to the challenge, one rhyme at a time.

The group is the first of its kind to launch an event at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, California where they aim to convey the message that Muslim women belong in hip-hop.


PHOTO: TWITTER


The group's founder, Alia Sharrief, explained in a video how the genre has traditionally been male-dominated but that Muslim women belonged in hip-hop despite it being frowned upon in more conservative corners of the Muslim community.

"We’re knowledgeable, we have rhymes, we have soul and we have something to say," Sharrief said.

She and other artists associated with the collective make it a point to address current issues in their rhymes, particularly related to matters of race and gender.



"I rhyme about helping people, protesting, speaking up for humanity, having dignity, and self-respect," Sharrief wrote last year in a feature on Muslimah Montage, an online platform for Muslim women.


PHOTO: TWITTER


Born and raised in Sacramento, Sharrief released her debut album Mental Cycles and Mood Swings in 2012. Work on her second album, Back on my Deen is under way and its first single "Who ready" was released earlier this year.

Many took to social media to support the women.

https://twitter.com/farhatkibachi/status/597098657645596672





This article originally appeared on Huffington Post

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