Islamic rappers and the struggles they face
MC Gaza is a young Middle Eastern rapper that uses Hip Hop to show the perils of his home country. He cites his biggest inspiration is Eminem and states that he became a rapper to avoid participating in jihadism.
Even though he tries to use Hip Hop for good, he faces lots of criticism from the people around him who think that "rap is haram [un-Islamic]... They think that we are acting like the West." MC Gaza wants to break that stereotype and he also wants to "break the whole country that broke me" through his music.
Even though he tries to use Hip Hop for good, he faces lots of criticism from the people around him who think that "rap is haram [un-Islamic]... They think that we are acting like the West." MC Gaza wants to break that stereotype and he also wants to "break the whole country that broke me" through his music.
Lupe Fiasco is an Islamic rapper that "proudly proclaims his Muslim faith as part of the reason for his unique outlook on music and culture.. "
He however does not like to flaunt his religion. "Islam plays a part in my life and everything I do, to a certain extent... I don't like putting my religion out there, I don't like wearing it like that, because I don't want people to look at me as the poster child for Islam. I'm not. I don't want them to look at my flaws and be like, 'oh, that's the flaws of Islam'."
Lupe's decision to not put his religion out there because people will tie his flaws with his religion's flaws ties closely with Said's work about how the media "represents the aggression as coming from Islam" as opposed to a few individual radicals.
He however does not like to flaunt his religion. "Islam plays a part in my life and everything I do, to a certain extent... I don't like putting my religion out there, I don't like wearing it like that, because I don't want people to look at me as the poster child for Islam. I'm not. I don't want them to look at my flaws and be like, 'oh, that's the flaws of Islam'."
Lupe's decision to not put his religion out there because people will tie his flaws with his religion's flaws ties closely with Said's work about how the media "represents the aggression as coming from Islam" as opposed to a few individual radicals.
Ghostface Killah is an Islamic rapper that, in recent years, he has gone public on his affiliation with Sunni Islam. He contrasts with Lupe Fiasco because Killah tries to differentiate his music and his religion instead of embrace it like Fiasco.
He faces criticisms from other muslims about the language in his lyrics and the vulgarity of his videos. He retorts with, "when you do videos, that’s just TV. That’s an illusion at the end of the day" and "we are in a time where things have changed." He differentiates his work with his lifestyle while maintaining his own unique identity.
He faces criticisms from other muslims about the language in his lyrics and the vulgarity of his videos. He retorts with, "when you do videos, that’s just TV. That’s an illusion at the end of the day" and "we are in a time where things have changed." He differentiates his work with his lifestyle while maintaining his own unique identity.