The headscarf is unlikely to trump push-up bras and bling as the dress of choice for hip-hop girls courting fame. But with the combination of street cred, thumping bass and religious conviction that Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor bring to the stage, the headscarf is looking hipper than ever.
Rashida and Noor are Poetic Pilgrimage, a British, Muslim, female hip-hop duo. They gave their first South African performance at the National Arts Festival last week to a small but captivated crowd of local “hip-hop heads”, and are about to embark on a small tour of Cape Town.
Poetic Pilgrimage was formed in 2002 and emerged out of the United Kingdom’s conscious hip-hop movement, a genre of hip-hop that takes up social and political issues. Back then, Islam was not even a glimmer on the horizon for Noor and Rashida, both of whom converted to the religion in 2005. “It was around a time when there were a lot of rappers and poets from the hip-hop scene who were embracing Islam. So we were part of a growing Muslim scene in the UK,” Noor says.
“We’ve always had a sociopolitical message. Since coming to Islam, what’s changed is that we’re far more focused,” says Rashida.
So what is their message? “We stand for peace. We are against injustice,” the two declare in the opening bars of their first track. From there on, the audience bounces along to tracks about the political abuse of Arab nations, calls to activism and softer topics such as inner peace and self-esteem.
Poetic Pilgrimage was one of the first female Muslim acts ever to become established on the stage. Religious debates over music, dancing and the place of women in public culture often deter religious Muslim women from taking to public platforms. But from the outset Rashida and Noor were embraced as rappers by the orthodox Muslim communities they joined.
“The group Mecca to Medina [also a Muslim hip-hop act] really encouraged us to use our voices as Muslim women. Around the time we converted there was a lot of debate around Muslim women not being seen or heard; for us it was important just to speak out about the things we felt strongly about. As time progressed a lot of Muslim women began to feel empowered by what we do. That wasn’t part of the plan but it just happened and it’s good,” says Rashida.
Although Noor and Rashida’s faith is integral to their vision for Poetic Pilgrimage, they say that ultimately their work is not evangelical. “We don’t see ourselves as Muslim rappers; we are poets and rappers who happen to be Muslim,” says Noor. “While we are part of a Muslim rap scene, it’s important to work outside of the scene as well. The global Islamic community is politically marginalised. … We have a responsibility to bridge the gap between ourselves and other communities.
Poetic Pilgrimage perform at the New Space on Long Street at 7pm on July 3 and will also give a public workshop at the Old Match Factory in Observatory at 10am that day