Coffeehouse Reprise

Coffeehouse is an annual performance event that the MSA at VCU organizes.  This year they had some great performances from pretty diverse genres.  Check out the links to the artists’ pages to hear some of their work.

Bo! Hi-Z Selectah!

Dj Hi-Z Supreme is shown here setting up for his performance alongside Sirraj L.K. at Coffeehouse.

AYZ

My cousin holds it down on stage with a few pieces.  AYZ is also an art/film student at VCU, check out the (winning) music video his group submitted for the Coffeehouse Film Competition: Islam Forever.

Uyghur 'n Out

Arafat sang some nasheeds at Coffeehouse, with the help of a tabla player.  Here he is working the crowd.  Earlier in the day, he performed traditional Uyghur songs at the Intercultural Festival, representing his culture at a campus-wide event.

Iris Divine

Heavy Metal band Iris Divine was featured at Coffeehouse with a performance that surprised everyone.  I think this was the first Muslim event I’ve been to with a hardcore heavy metal band headlining, and people actually enjoyed it!  To their credit, they’re a great band, check out their music online: Iris Divine

Luse Kannons

Local Richmond hip-hop heavyweight, Sirraj L.K., made an appearance at Coffeehouse to share new material.  Check out his music online too: Sirraj L.K.

Future Creators

Sirraj L.K. featured some children from a local Islamic academy to play drums on stage during his performance.  Before the show, the kids were excited about being at the event and seemed to have a great time throughout the night.

LiteBright

Ausim shows off his cool shirt, featured in the video for Islam Forever.  LED lights moved up and down like an equalizer to all sound/music nearby.  Check out the video if you still haven’t seen it:  Islam Forever

Jam Session

These students waited for their chance to jam on stage and finally got a chance at the very end of the show.  Students did a great job of sharing their creative talents with the community.  It helped that the audience was very supportive and receptive to the diverse genres of performances that came across the stage that night.  Coffeehouse is a great event, with an inspirational legacy that’s always had a profound impact on me and many others in the community.  InshaAllah, it continues to inspire others 🙂

Sun is Shining, Weather is Sweet..

I’m not particularly big on Bob Marley.  This did seem like a fitting title for a post about Spring though, so…props Mr. Marley.  These are pics from the past few months of Spring.  There was plenty of great action from weddings, festivals and general hooliganry.  Enjoy 🙂

What Comes Next

Mohsin is a childhood friend and old neighbor who recently got married in Dayton, OH.  My family roadtripped to the ceremony at this baller convention center.  It was pretty impressive, here’s a picture of Mohsin and his baby sister waiting to begin.

Papadoc

My dad was kickin back in the hotel room after being the first to get ready for the wedding.

Floralwear

Adil was apprehensive about me taking a picture of him draped in flowers for fear of it showing up on the internet.  You were right, sorry.  I just really like the picture!

Scarved For Life

At the Intercultural Festival (ICF) at VCU in Richmond, Zee is rockin one of these retro Palestinian-ish scarves.  I doubt purple represents the struggle, but…whatever.  That is a fresh beard lineup though, I must say.

Heads

Mohsin stands out with his traditional Punjabi turban at his ceremony.  Here, he’s surrounded by friends and family before the procession enters the main hall.

Saba So Bright

Inside the main hall, towards the end of the ceremony, friends from our table were comparing items from their gift boxes.  I guess Saba was happy about all the goodies 🙂

Smörgåsbord of Culture

ICF takes place annually in Monroe Park, on VCU’s main campus.  This year, they had performances all day on two separate stages.  There were also food vendors and display tables for cultures from all around the world.  Here, students dressed in some cultural garb enjoy a performance.  How many cultures can you spot?

Maaaaaaz!

This is Maaaaaaz!

Play On PD, Play On

Project Downtown (PD) is an initiative we started back when I was at VCU.  The basic concept was to make food to distribute to the needy on a weekly basis, whilst reaching out and connecting with people to build positive relationships.  Thankfully, we were able to brand it as something fresh, as you can see from the ridiculously dope gear Hemy is rockin here.  They still carry on the legacy today, which is amazing to see.  There’s alot of good in it, inshaAllah they’re able to keep it up 🙂