美国国家公共电台 NPR Mona Haydar Breaks The Mold For Muslim Rap: 'You Just Have To Do You'

 

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HIJABI")

MONA HAYDAR: (Rapping) What that hair look like? Bet that hair look nice. Don't that make you sweat? Don't that feel too tight?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Mona Haydar first made her mark with the music video "Hijabi." Billboard¹ magazine named the song, about women who choose to wear the traditional Muslim headscarf, one of the best protest anthems² of 2017. Haydar is Syrian-American. And she raps about feminism, politics and identity.

HAYDAR: You know, I grew up in Flint, Mich., always other, never wholly human, never fully³ one thing or another. If I went to Syria, I was the American. In Flint, I was the little Arab girl. And so this identity that I'm speaking to is we are whole in and of ourselves.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Her new album is called "Barbarican." And in it, Haydar redefines the meaning of barbaric.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BARBARICAN")

HAYDAR: (Singing) We them barbarians⁵ - jasmine and frankincense - feminine invading them - beautiful barbarians.

I'm a Muslim woman who has her master's degree in Christian⁶ ethics⁷. And that shocks a lot of people. But what it does for me is it informs my historical and present social location as an American woman. When I was sitting in a class, we were studying what it is to be barbaric, barbarian⁴. And at the same time, I'm studying the New Testament⁸. I'm studying the words of Paul. I'm studying what it is to be other inside of the Roman Empire. And doing all of that work while the current sitting president was making comments about Mexicans, comments about Muslims, comments about trans people, I felt like if there was ever a moment to speak love into the universe, it was here.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BARBARICAN")

HAYDAR: (Singing) Say it again - beautiful barbarians. Say it again - beautiful barbarians.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You also make this really personal, though, too. I want to talk about the song "Suicide Doors."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUICIDE DOORS")

HAYDAR: (Singing) Nobody wanna talk about it. She used to say I'm too dark - habibi. She used to say I'm too thick - habibi. But even then she was so thin - habibi.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is a song about a close friend of yours that committed suicide, right?

HAYDAR: Yeah.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But it also opens up a conversation not only about mental health but about some of the insecurities and anxieties that are faced by women in your community.

HAYDAR: So this song is definitely about bucking⁹ standards of beauty that create unhealth in our communities, that create a lack of access to deeply seated security inside of who we are, whether we choose to wear makeup¹⁰ or use our bodies in, you know, overtly¹¹ sexual or nonsexual ways. You know, we can be healthy and whole and beautiful. And we need to stop talking about mental wellness as if it's just something for white people.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUICIDE DOORS")

HAYDAR: (Singing) I pray that you're OK. Oh.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: One of your previous songs "Dog" is also about women who have been victimized and abused by those in positions of religious authority, as you put it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DOG")

HAYDAR: (Rapping in foreign language). (Rapping) Spiritually violent, deviant but hiding it - you can't sell enlightenment. Laugh at your entitlement. Panel on women - only dudes - um, excuse me? - really rude.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm thinking about "Suicide Doors" and "Dog" as part of a continuum because so often in minority groups that are under threat, people don't want to criticize themselves because it's seen as giving ammunition¹² to those who are attacking it. Why do you want to speak out about these sensitive topics?

HAYDAR: I feel like I can speak to men in positions of religious authority without worrying because - guess what? Women across the board globally have no power in religious institutions. And that's just the reality of patriarchy. So I'm over here just like, what do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose. Let me speak truth to domination and see if it can help because it certainly can't hurt.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What's been the reaction from within your community?

HAYDAR: You know, I've had people call me too Muslim. I've had people call me not Muslim and not for - that I'm not even Muslim because of some of my ideals and values and views. People can have their reactions. People can have their ideas and opinions. But at the end of the day, I'm good no matter what people are saying or not saying about me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It still must be hard. You tweeted recently, if I try to be what they want me to be, they will never be proud. And I will never be happy always chasing some false reality. Just be you. Just do you.

HAYDAR: Yeah. You know, I was at a Tyler Perry screening of his new movie, actually. And it was just this beautiful reflection because he was, like, you know, I'm breaking out of the mold. I'm breaking out of the box. This is my first PG-13 movie. And I was just like, well, here I am always concerned about what my community is going to feel because we are being targeted, because we are constantly feeling like we have to be defensive¹³. Like, we have to defend ourselves from the onslaught of slander¹⁴ of just straight up untruths about us.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AMERICAN")

HAYDAR: (Rapping) They don't want to see me as American. The only ones who've been here are my Native friends. All I wanna do is have some fun by the beach, man. But here come I-C-E and the travel ban.

I definitely understand when my community is, like, you know, just, like, stay close. And don't ruffle¹⁵ feathers inside because we already have people trying to attack us from the outside. And I'm just, like, you know what? We have to be strong from the inside. And I'm trying to be that model for myself and my children and my family and for my fan base, for everybody. But you can't be afraid of breaking out. You just have to do you. And people will catch up.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Mona Haydar's new album "Barbarican" is out now. Thank you so much.

HAYDAR: Thanks so much. Take care.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AMERICAN")

HAYDAR: (Rapping) They don't want to see me as American. The only ones who've been here are my Native friends. All I wanna do is have some fun by the beach, man. But here come I-C-E and the travel ban.

1 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

2 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

5 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

8 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

9 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

10 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

11 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

12 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

13 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

14 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

15 ruffle   

v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边

参考例句：

• Don't ruffle my hair.I've just combed it.别把我的头发弄乱了。我刚刚梳好了的。
• You shouldn't ruffle so easily.你不该那么容易发脾气。