Islam and hip hop in the United States

Rakim, considered to be one of the greatest lyricists of all time, was one of the earliest hip hop artists to incorporate references to Islam into their work. Born William Griffin, he later became a Five Percenter, adopting the name Rakim Allah.

In his song “My Melody,” with Eric B., Rakim references the Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet.

“I drop science like a scientist/My melodies in code”

In this verse, he references how Gods and Earths will often refer to themselves as scientists in their quest for knowledge and proof. He then describes how Five Percenters view numbers and letters as code for cultural messages from Allah.

The song "R.A.K.I.M." contains a direct reference to the islamic god with the line "Allah who I praise to the fullest"

Big Daddy Kane is also a Five Percenter,[2] having been introduced to the movement in high school. In his song “Just Rhymin’ with Biz,” he states that the ‘Kane’ in his name stands for King Asiatic, Nobody's Equal, an allusion to the Five Percent Nation's teaching that the Original Man was an Asiatic Black man. His other works are also rife with references to Islam and other Five Percent Nation teachings. For example, the final verse of Big Daddy Kane's 1988 hit “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’” explicitly conveys his connection to Islam.

“Hold up the peace sign, as salaam alaikum!”

This Arabic phrase, meaning “peace be upon you,” is commonly used among Muslims as a salutation.

Later, his 1989 song “Mortal Combat,” referenced the Supreme Mathematics. Also, in his song 1989 song "Young, Gifted, and Black" Big Daddy Kane samples a Louis Farrakhan speech.

“Beginning to end, from Knowledge to Born”

According to the Supreme Mathematics, Knowledge corresponds to the number one, and Born is represented by the number nine. This then indicates that Big Daddy Kane was cleverly repeating the beginning phrase, “beginning to end,” using Five Percenter terminology.

Lakim Shabazz was an MC during the 1980s who derived his name from the Tribe of Shabazz. Lakim Shabazz was significantly influenced by Islam, specifically the teachings of the Five Percent Nation. His raps also reflect this, perhaps most obviously in the song “Black is Back.” The song encourages African-Americans to recognize their greatness and fight for freedom, justice and equality, as is emphasized in the following lyrics:

“You say it’s gonna be hard, but I’m God, I got the proof and truth, and now it’s time to get loose.”

Shabazz is stating that his words are the truth, as described by the teachings of the Five Percent Nation.

Afrika Islam was a prominent hip hop producer during the 1980s. He trained extensively under Afrika Bambaataa, known as the Godfather of Hip Hop, for numerous years before embarking on his individual career. Like his mentor, Afrika Islam worked heavily with the Zulu Nation,[3] an organization originally developed to use hip hop to stop violence and spread peace. As time passed, the Zulu Nation drew increasingly heavily from the Nation of Islam's teachings, sharing the organization's principles with its members.[4]

One of the most influential 90's rappers was Busta Rhymes who in 1990 formed the group Leaders of the New School before later starting his own solo career with the hit single Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check. He was a New York Jamaican, born in Brooklyn and raised in Long Island where he formed his group and signed a deal with Elektra Records at age 17.[6]

Leaders of the New School officially started in 1991 with their debut album A Future Without a Past...; however, they only were able to release one more album T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye), before breaking up in 1994.[6]

In 2007, Busta decided to release his thoughts on Islam to the press, stating, “I try to really understand every aspect of the Most High. For me, the Most High is Allah. All praises due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds, the greatest, the beneficent, the merciful...I live my life by Islam.” [6]

His song Arab Money, released in 2009, got a lot of negative push-back from the Muslim community for its lyrics about making money in off of oil in Arab countries. He later remixed the song to include lyrics from the Qur'an, which only further offended Muslims who did not believe that verses from the Qur'an should appear in song lyrics, however this decision certainly allowed his music to gain more attention among Muslims.[6]

Ice Cube was born in Los Angeles where he started a group called C.I.A with a friend and eventually started collaborating with Dr. Dre, with whom he later joined Eazy-E’s Compton-based group called Niggaz With Attitude (N.W.A), for which his most noteworthy role was lyricist, starting with his writing the song "Straight Outta Compton" in 1988.[7]

He later started his solo debut as AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted where he started to tackle social issues like poverty, racism, and drug addiction, along with general critiques to American society. He started acting in 1991 and has appeared in many films since then.

In the early 1990s, Ice Cube converted to Islam, and when asked about his faith he stated, “I mean, what I call myself is a natural Muslim, because it’s just me and God.”[7] On his 1991 album Death Certificate, Ice Cube samples excerpts of a speech made by Khalid Muhammad.

Dante Smith was born in Brooklyn, and formed a group with his siblings called Urban Thermo Dynamics and then ventured on his own, becoming part of a hip hop collective with the Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest called “Native Tongues”. Later he began to work alongside Talib Kweli as Blackstar, and his music took a sociopolitical turn.[8]

Sociopolitical hip hop gained a lot of attention in the late 1990s, and in 1999 Mos Def came out with his solo debut album Black on Both Sides. The first words spoken on this album, “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" translate to "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful.”

His father who was a member of Nation of Islam, and he became a part of the community of Imam Warithdeen Muhammad, son of Elijah Muhammad, the founder of Nation of Islam. "I got my first exposure to Islam when I was 13," he said. "My dad taught me how to make wudhu [the ritual ablution Muslims perform before prayer]."[8]

At 19 he took the Muslim declaration of faith, shahada, and Islam became the cornerstone of his life.[8]

Jonathan Davis was born in Harlem in 1970, and at age 20 in 1990 he converted to Islam and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. Before converting he had been agnostic.[9]

He grew up in Queens where he went to school with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi White with whom he formed the group A Tribe Called Quest, and their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm was released in 1990. Kamaal released his debut solo album in 1999.[10] At the end of a Tribe Called Quest's song "Phony Rappers" there is a sample of a speech made by Iman Siraj Wajjah, a Sunni Muslim man from Brooklyn, NY.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad started his career along with Q-Tip in A Tribe Called Quest, later expanding into becoming a DJ and producer and later started his solo career in 2004 with his debut LP Shaheedulah and Stereotypes.[11]

“With regards to Islam, it definitely — I mean, I walk a different walk than probably a lot of different people in the industry. I'm not saying it like I'm better. I'm in no way any better or a saint, but there's — people can depend on me. They have. They do. And they call me the voice of reason. And I suppose that my faith has something to do with that.”[12]

“It can rip an artist apart, because then you're under the ridicule of, "Aren't you Muslim? Don't you believe in this? What you're doing goes against" — and it's just like, "Yeah, I already know everything you're saying to me." I don't know if anyone else gets that sort of scrutiny so I do understand why people keep it to themselves.”[12]