10 Questions with Mohammed Yahya

I was forced to leave Mozambique when I was only 1 year of age, me, my father, mother, and 2 sisters had very little time to plan due to the intensity of the civil war at the time.

Mozambique had gained its Independence from Portugal in June 25, 1975 but 2 yrs later another war kicked off between two Mozambican Political Parties Renamo and Frelimo.

Tell us about the situation that forced you to leave Mozambique. How old were you?

My parents had to react quickly by arranging for us to leave the country as soon as possible with very little clothe and no money, it must have been heartbreaking to see over 900,000 Mozambicans killed by the war and starvation, whilst over 5 million civilians were displaced.

About what time were you in Portugal and how did hip hop enter your life?

I was raised in Lisbon the Capital of Portugal until I was 10 yrs old, Hip Hop came into my life in the late 80’s and it affected us like a musical virus spreading throughout every Ghetto in my area, from How we dressed, to our haircuts to the songs we were rapping along to.

People of African Descent experienced a lot of racism in Portugal but when Hip Hop came, the tables turned and we started becoming the cool Kids, with the cool clothe, haircuts and dance moves.

I remember imitating rappers dance steps and attempting to rap along to their songs even though I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

What brought you to London?

Due to the high level of racism in Portugal, I often saw my father having to work 18 hrs a day to put food on the table, even though he was the most qualified person to get some jobs he would never get them because he was black, so he was forced to work 2 jobs for most of the time and having to take a bunch of tablets to keep him awake when he was tired.

My parents divorced when i was 9 and because my mother wasn’t financially stabled at the time my father decided to take the children with him to London.

I read that your father was a singer. How did he influence you both as a young man and a musician?

My father has always been a fighter, seeing him struggle for most part of his life and still carry on is one of the biggest inspirations I’ve had. He is very supportive of what i do and i love him for that. In Mozambique he had his own band and even had many radio appearances, my mother also loved music so music was always a part of my household growing up.

You have been in several groups – Geneva Konvention , Blind Alphabetz – and also performed solo. Tell us about that history.

I have been part of so many groups, more than the ones you mentioned, unfortunately I’ve always felt most of the members didn’t see my vision and weren’t prepared to put in the work it requires for an artist to be successful so eventually i decided to go solo.

I’m still in contact with many of the members of my old groups and work very close to some of them BIG UP MY BOY MASIKAH!!!

I recently ran an article about you on World Hip Hop Market talking about you and Lines of Faith in a Jewish-Muslim duo. Tell us what that is about.

Lines of Faith is the 1st ever Muslim/ Jewish Hip Hop Super group in U.K, we usually perform with our 4 piece live band. We met through a mutual friend and respected scholar called Sheikh Michael Mumisa who is a professor in Cambridge University.

He felt me and Daniel were walking on parallel paths and had so much in common; we were both rappers, involved in youth work, and event organisers. We clicked from the first time we meet and that was it. Daniel has become one of my closest friends and we learn so much from one another.

Our music is a fusion of Islamic and Jewish concepts, with jazz, Hip Hop, reggae, funk and elements of rock. The direction of the project is focused on bringing the ancient traditions of both faiths alive in a way that highlights the common ground of the two communities as well as all humanity something that we feel very necessary in the current climate

The United Kingdom has a unique hip hop scene – diverse, influenced by many Diaspora and musical traditions. What do you see as the trajectory of UK hip hop for the future?

I guess the trajectory of Hip Hop in UK will depend on a few things such as the condition of its people because the music is always a reflection of the environment that is born in, so if the people feel angry or oppressed in any way you will hear that in the music.

As for the diversity of the sound I think it’s definitely becoming a lot vaster and now you have a wide range of various Hip Hop movements from the Afro Portuguese rappers to Arab rappers who rap in Arabic and English, sampling sounds from traditional music from their country, and for me that is beautiful because it allows you to express yourself in a way that you can connect with your own a community as well as a wider global community because music is a universal language.

I love your song “Road to Firdhouse”. Can you tell us who produced that song and what it’s speaking to?

The person who produced “Road to Firdhouse” is a very talented individual called TE1; he also produced another track on my new CD “Beyond Conflict” called Nefarious.

The title “Road to Firdhouse” was actually changed to Half My Deen which basically means half of my faith. The message of that song is to focus on the importance of marriage and is speaking to everyone who intends on getting married, everyone who doesn’t feel marriage is important but also empowering our women. (Special Shout out TO WIFEYYYYYYYYYYYY)

As Muslims we believe that a successful marriage becomes half of your faith because of many reasons, and the foundation to a good community is a strong family structure.

You were a founder of Rebel Muzik Arts foundation and you hold monthly cultural events. What’s the purpose behind those activities?

Rebel Muzik events were born from the necessity of a platform where people could express themselves in an artistic way, it has been a real blessing to see it grow monthly and to see all types of people from various ethnicities and faiths pass through and express themselves.

It also provides an alternative to the music we tend to watch in channels such as MTV, it is a grassroots event and what comes out of it is the true voice of the people.

What are your plans for upcoming projects, shows, etc?

I have just completed a new a new CD called Beyond Conflict which will be officially out in April it features some highly talented musicians from U.S such as M1 from Dead Prez and Sean Price from Boot Camp Click as well as some of the most respected names in England.

As for shows I have a U.S. tour in April and another one in England in late April/ early May. I’m also getting booked for some festivals across U.K and will be doing some stuff in Europe.

I’ve already working on my new project called Silent Lectures and recording with artists from Brazil to Norway.

Watch the space and check out my myspace page: www.myspace.com/mohammedyahya