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Ahmed Knowmadic talks about his identity as a Somali living in the Diaspora.

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salaams! this is an awesome blog, mashaAllah

Gracias. Thanks for following. You have cool stuff too.

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Keep Calm and Cab Shaaha.

Keep Calm and Drink Tea.

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Fadumo Sunny and Ibrahim tell a story about lives converging from world apart. 

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The Travels of IGAL SHIDAD (A Somali Folktale)

The Travels of IGAL SHIDAD Long ago, Igal Shidad lived in Somalia. Like many Somali People, he and his family were nomadic herders of camel and sheep. They traveled the land in search of water and grass for their animals. Thousands of funny stories were told of Igal because even though he was a wise man, he was also known as a coward. Igal is unreasonable fears caused him much trouble, but with cleverness and faith, he always managed find solutions to his problems. This tale of Igal is still told to every Somali Child. 

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“Right now, the pressures of the music industry encourage me to change the walk of my songs. When I write from the deepest part of my heart, my advisers say, I remind people too much of Somalia, which I escaped as a boy. My audience is in America, so my songs should reflect the land where I have chosen to live and work.They have a point. A musician’s songs are not just his own; he shares them with an audience. Still, Somalia is where my life and poetry began. It is my walk. And I don’t want to lose it. Or stifle it. Or censor it in the name of marketing.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/knaan-on-censoring-himself-for-success.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

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While rappers from JayZ to Pharoahe Monch rhyme on Western airwaves about growing up in tough streets, this humble collection of rappers, singers, and poets — and even many of their fans — have taken bullets, stab wounds, beatings, threats, and stalking by those who oppose their messages of peace, love, and reconciliation. On top of that, they are refugees who fled Somalia’s bloody war and still stand up and rap against an al Qaeda-backed extremist rebel force of a hundred thousand guns called “The Youth,” aka al Shabaab, who even banned music as part of their failed strategy to conquer the minds of Somalia.

Daniel J Gerstle on Somali hip hop in the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi. Via Matador Network, photo by Jake Simkin  

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Somali poets and rappers in a cipher on the streets of Minneapolis during the Somali Independence Day celebration.

http://www.thePoetNation.com

Poet Nation is a Somali art and culture hub that engages youth from around the world through poetry, music and great stories.

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This is so powerful. Hersi is a former US Marine and veteran of Iraq. He is also a Somali Muslim. In this video brought to you by Poet Nation, he recounts his experience as a Muslim in the American school system and the US military- “Terrorism is not a Religion”.

Poet Nation is a Somali art and culture hub that engages youth from around the world poetry, music and stories- it’s worth a look to see the other stuff they’ve posted.