Interview with One Be Lo, Community Cafe performer, IMAN supporter, and activist.

By Fathima Khan, IMAN Communications Intern

Fathima Khan: Why is Hip-Hop relevant to the struggles of today's inner-city, or today's
minorities?

OneBeLo: Well I think hip-hop was and is and always will be relevant because anybody can do it. Hip-hop, and when I'm talking about hip hop now and in this context, even if it's just b-boying, you just have to have a passion. You don't have to have no money to start b-boying. You can ust watch a video clip and start working in your moves. If you wanna rap you don't have to go to a school or have money. So when I'm saying anyone can do it, I'm just saying you've gotta have money to have equipment or know someone who has equipment if you wanna be a DJ or have a studio or something, but even today, the technology has made it easy to do that, but I'm talking about the voice and it's the voice of the people, real people, and I'm not talking about the industry but real people that go through real things and that's what hip-hop is. It's being reported from a group of people who are going through those situations. It's not somebody else speaking; it's the people speaking for themselves so even if you don't have your own voice in hip-hop per se, you can find your voice, you can find the artist or the song that speaks your language, that speaks to you, and it's always gonna be like that. Real hip-hop is gonna always exist and it's gonna always be relevant, because there are always gonna be real people who care about real issues and who voice those issues. And that's why I believe it's [hip hop] gonna always be relevant.

FK: Do you think it's more relevant for minorities?

OneBeLo: It might have started there because that's the language and format that we understood, the majority of people didn't really get it, they didn't understand what are they doing or why are hey doing it but now it's in this place now where everybody is starting to get what hip hop is and everybody is exposed to it. But I think that specifically for the inner-city, minorities, and when I say minorities I'm not just saying in America but all over the world, hip hop becomes our newspaper, our newsletter, or method of communication a form of education and even [our] propaganda. So i's not just music it's like this is the way we communicate, the way we express ourselves, the way we spread information. It could be about police brutality; it could be about what's going on in my neighborhood; it could be about what's going on in the world. It's just the voice of the people, it's a reflection of real people and what they're going through.

FK: I know you've been all around the world, and that you just came from Egypt. How do your
travels flavor your music, and how does your perspective change when you come back to the
States?

OneBeLo: Well definitely, I mean you know when I started making music, I grew up in Pontiac
Michigan, so I was speaking from a Pontiac Michigan perspective. And I was speaking from the
perspective of the way I understood people, the way I related with Chinese people or Arab people and in Pontiac Michigan I didn't [come in contact with different races] so I didn't think about or talk about a lot of things because I didn't even understand it, and obviously the more I travel, and the more I come in contact with these different people and see with my own eyes, I can speak from my own experience and just knowing all the people that listen to my music, it makes me curious they're getting to know me so it gets me curious to get to know them. When I came back from Europe, I got a different understanding of the English language just coming back from Europe. I got a different understanding of the way that I want to present my music because I know that if I present it from a Pontiac, Michigan perspective, and the way I grew up, I would probably offend a lot of people just out of ignorance.

FK: Why do you think IMAN is important? Why are events like Community Cafe important?

OneBeLo: I think the reason why IMAN is important is because it's an organization that,
number one: their planning and their intentions in the community are to support, benefit, uplift,and impact the community. I's a Muslim organization, but it's not one of those where they build a masjid [mosque] in the suburbs and it's like a country club. No they're in the hood, they're really in the community, like, not just working with the Muslims, they're working with the community and the community is Muslims, Christians non-believers, gangsters, thugs, college students. I think that's why IMAN is so relevant, not just because it's a Muslim organization but [because] it's doing good for the community. Not just the Muslim community or the Black community or the minority community or the immigrant community, but the community period. Community Cafe is fresh because ifs a lot of people in the community including Muslims who don't get exposed to Muslims like that. Me being a Muslim, my first time performing at Community Cafe, I'd never performed in front of a crowd like that. I mean I'd never seen that many hijabs [head scarves] in the crowd. I think that for different perspectives we can come together and it's a halal [religiously permissible] form of entertainment. It's entertainment from the Muslim community, and from a non-Muslim perspective, [it shows that] these Muslims get out and they've got entertainment. Some of it is hip hop and some of these artists are jazz artists and it's just clean entertainment and it's a good time. It kind of shows that Muslims are people you can get along with, you don't gotta be afraid to go to a gathering that has tons of Muslims.

FK: As you probably noticed at Community Cafe there are tons of kids who have become active members of IMAN. What message do you have for them?

OneBeLo: I would say to those youth that it's important to get involved. And I think that the one cool part about IMAN is that it allows the youth to get involved in a way that they understand. And not everybody's trying to necessarily be a civil rights leader or the imam [leader] of a community and that's cool. Some people want to organize events, so they do photography or graphics or just be a part of something that's fun. I think when it comes to youth it's important to have fun and to have positive role models. Look in the community and there's a wide range of what these people are doing in the community. Some of them are spiritual leaders; some are lawyer and doctors, and I think IMAN is teaching kids to get involved in the community period. It could be something as small as your own family and just providing a safe environment for people to enjoy themselves. So not only is it helping them to be a part of something, but it's preparing them to do the same in the future so that we can  keep this thing going.