Chicago’s Global Hip-Hop Luminary: Amirah Sackett
By Arfa Haque, Content Coordinator at MWP
In conversation with the dynamic and profound artist: Amirah Sackett. Amirah is from Chicago and is a professional hip-hop artist. She has seamlessly weaved her culture into a unique form of art. Featured in multiple platforms like Huffpost, Medium, Chicago Tribune for her inspirational work, Amirah, shared with MWP about her journey and advice on being a Muslim hip-hop artist.
1. What motivated you to pursue a career in this field, considering that most Muslims are not influenced by a choice in this particular career?
I have really loved dancing from a very young age, I didn't know exactly how that would take shape, I very much felt it in my heart.
My father was a musician, he played jazz guitar. My mom allowed me to take dance class. But she was very specific about not doing jazz dance and different classes that had questionable costumes, etc.
I was working a regular job. I worked in a law firm, out of college, like I didn't have a law degree but I went to school and got my degree in dance. My parents worried about how I was going to earn and take care of myself?
When I started working with children, in particular, with dance, I worked at a lot of young boys and girls clubs here in the US, and worked in communities where the kids were facing different challenges, and dance was a beautiful outlet for them, in particular hip hop. And I remember being in my early 20s, I was teaching these kids and they had their arms wrapped around me and they were just so happy that somebody was giving them attention and dancing with them.
That's when I really decided I want this as my career. My goal was really to be a force of good in the community that I live in, and work with kids. And being a performer!
Eventually I wanted to talk about being Muslim, and me being a dancer. And the purpose of that was because of a lot of the hate speech towards Muslims here in the US. I felt that I should use my art and my voice to educate people of other faiths about Islam.
There's something about dance that communicates the soul versus just conversations. It's a visual thing that's very impactful to people. Seeing me be a strong Muslim woman, seeing me express myself in a way that's powerful, is a different impact.
2. The world was not so open and accepting to Muslim artists 10 years ago when you started. It has evolved a lot in these years because of resilient artists like you. What advice would you give to a Muslim who wants to start in this field but is unsure if this might conflict with their practice?
I think you have to check your intention. You have to be strong, to know that you're gonna come up against opposition. And you also have to do the research for yourself or check your belief systems and make sure that the dance you're doing or the art that you're doing is in line with your spiritual path.I know some Muslims that are not okay with music and dance. That is okay, that’s their path. That's how you feel like you need to practice Islam. And if that's the case, then the only thing that would make me question that is if they're consumers of it. So I think we have to look at ourselves from a standpoint of - is this expression in line with my value system? And then understanding that in our Islamic history, there are so many creatives and forms of artists.
3. You have done tremendous work to showcase Muslim women in a unique field like dancing. Do you see that difference? Do you see more Muslim women like not just necessarily Muslim women wearing hijab, but just Muslim women as hip hop dancers, as artists?
Absolutely. It definitely has grown. I think it's grown in the way hip hop has grown. Two older men showed up at my performance in Belgium. They were Moroccan but born in Belgium. They were poppers back in the ‘80s. They traveled from the city they were in to come and support my performance, because they were so proud to have a Muslim woman now representing their art form, which they used to do back in the ‘80s.
It was so meaningful for me to have that support. I've seen hip hop around the world, it always gets mixed with the culture that's there. It becomes a beautiful fusion. It's just a method of poetry, of expression that can talk to you about anything like societal problems, and can get kids on the right path by being creative.
A lot of kids have a lot of energy and it needs to be put forth on something positive. I feel like it doesn't mean that 10 years ago, there weren't Muslim artists. I think that there was less accessibility for them to showcase their arts and show their abilities. There are so many great dancers who maybe never took the stage or never got a chance to express themselves outside of weddings or parties.
Now maybe they're seeing a way of like, “Oh, I could pursue this or I can use this as a positive outlet for myself, but I still have my faith and I still want to respect that.”
I see those doors opening up for people to be expressive, and maintain their culture and maintain their faith. That is what I was praying for.
4. What advice would you give to a Muslim professional who wants to start or transition to this career? And just start with hip hop?
Number one is your skills. You always have to work on your skills because it's competitive. You have to focus on being a good artist. It's not enough to just have a label, like I'm a female and I'm Muslim. You have to be able to do the art well, regardless of your identity.
You need a mentor who helps your skills grow in your art form.
Check your intention. Why do you want to become famous? We always think that we only worship one God, right? So I'm good! I'm Muslim! But this also can come in the form of worshiping ourselves or other people. And we have to be very careful in this time period, where the idealization of self and the idol worship of self is really out there. Any kind of fame or success that comes with it is by Allah.
You have to be smart with your money and you have to also make sure that you're coming up with, you know, a sustainable life for yourself financially.
Never stop creating, and be patient.
