A force unseen: A Muslim history of hip hop

Staging the Ummah Part 5: A Force Unseen: A Muslim History of Hip Hop

Friday 31st May 2013 - 6.30pm

RICHMIX, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA

BOOK TICKETS HERE

Islam and Hip Hop from Rumi to Rakim.This isn't a history of "Muslim Hip Hop".

This is something more subversive, more powerful, more vital than that. This is a Muslim history of Hip Hop. From earliest days of rap with The Last Poets to the Hip Hop pioneers of inner-city New York to the emergence of the West Coast scene, Islam, Muslims and Muslim-inspired movements have never been far from the creative centres of Hip Hop.

Writer, filmmaker and professor Sohail Daulatzai (University of California, Irvine), who's work deals with hip-hop, cultural politics and relations between the West and Muslims, will take us on a journey through the history of Hip Hop seen through Muslim eyes. Along the way we'll hear about luminaries like Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, Jurassic 5, Brother Ali, Lupe Fiasco, Jasiri X and Q-Tip, but we'll also hear about personalities and movements not so well known but equally potent.

Be prepared to be surprised and challenged as we try to understand the potent role Hip Hop plays in shaping ideas and contemporary culture - and how Muslms are influencing its development and being influenced by it.

Featuring the screening of an exclusive clip from the forthcoming documentary film Return of the Mecca: Islam and Hip-Hop From Rumi to Rakim

We hope to be joined by some special guests too - all are welcome!Presented by Radical Middle Way and The Leaf Network with Rich Mix as part of the Staging the Ummah – a semi-regular series of events aimed at developing a critical conversation about contemporary Muslim arts and culture.

Sohail Daulatzai is the co-editor of Born to Use Mics, a literary remix of Nas' landmark 1994 album Illmatic, and is also the author of Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom beyond America (2012). He has written liner for the 2012 release of the 20th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set of Rage Against the Machine's self titled debut album, the liner notes for the DVD release of Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme and the centerpiece in the museum catalog Movement: Hip-Hop in L.A., 1980's – Now. His writing has appeared in The Nation, Counterpunch, Al Jazeera, Souls, Black Routes to Islam, Amer-Asia, and Basketball Jones, amongst others. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Program in African American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is working on a graphic novel. More of his work can be found at openedveins.com.

Date: Friday 31st May 2013

Time: 6pm doors open, 6:30pm start, 10pm close

Venue: RICHMIX 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA

Map: http://www.richmix.org.uk/visit/how-to-get-here/

Cost: £5

**Places are strictly limited - Please RSVP as soon as possible**

Brought to you by The Leaf Network and Radical Middle Way as part of the "Staging the Ummah" -a series of semi-regular gatherings promoting critical conversations on contemporary Muslim art and culture.