Poetic Pilgrimage

Background

Poetic Pilgrimage is made up of members Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor. Both musicians are of the Afro-Caribbean background and converted to Islam in 2005.

Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor were both born in Bristol to Jamaican parents, and have been performing together as Poetic Pilgrimage for 7 years now. The early part of their career saw them as favourites on the London poetry circuit where they performed alongside some of the biggest names often to standing ovations and they have become forerunners in the UK Muslim Hip Hop scene, bridging the gap between their community and the wider Hip Hop and music scene.

Biography

Sukina Abdul Noor: (born Yashima Douglas) holds a BA (Hons) Degree in English Literature and Caribbean Studies from London Metropolitan University, she was also the editor of a Muslim Hip Hop magazine and hosts a lifestyle Show on Islam Channel. She organises a monthly Poetry event in West London and she has been conducting workshops for over one year. Sukina is married to Mohammed Yahya who is also a Spoken Word Artist / Rapper and is part of the band called Lines of Faith.

Muneera Rashida: (born Tanya Williams) holds a BA Degree from the University of Westminster in Creative Media Practice where her expertise lay in the field of Video Production and Film Studies. Muneera is also an event organiser where she mentors young upcoming artists giving career and performance advice. Muneera is also a youth mentor and has worked in various youth clubs.

History

Their intention is to make progressive Hip Hop music that fuses their African and Caribbean roots with their musical tastes such as Jazz, Afrobeat, Soul and beyond, providing a novel backdrop to their message of peace, unity, interfaith relations and freedom. They have travelled to various countries particularly Europe (and also hope to travel more frequently to Africa) where the spirit of Hip Hop still exists and have collaborated and worked with artists of the same genre but they also hope to fuse Hip Hop with more traditional sounds from countries such as Senegal, Mali and Morocco. Poetic Pilgrimage have already begun to realise this ambition of theirs by collaborating with musical artists of other faiths. November 2009 saw them collaborate and perform alongside Kavona, a Jewish musical band under the name of YALLA to produce sounds which fused Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Jewish folk music with lyrics in English, Arabic and Yiddish. November 2009 has also seen them perform in mainland Europe in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK. They have also performed in the US. Poetic Pilgrimage are the first UK Artist to have performed at The International Trinity Festival Connecticut during their first American tour in March - April 2009.

In addition Poetic Pilgrimage are workshop facilitators and value the ability to teach Poetry and Hip Hop to a younger generation with the aim of being able to enable them change their realities, so they also incorporate their workshops with their music shows in the countries they travel to. Through their workshops they tackle various social issues and aim to counteract the negative impact of some of these using Hip Hop and Grime. As young Muslim women of African-Caribbean heritage they challenge stereotypes and inspire others to do the same.

Hip Hop Hijabis - Documentary

Hip Hop Hijabis is a 2015 documentary on Al Jazeera about two Islamic Hip Hop artists Sukeena & Muneera who are a Hip Hop duo belonging to group, Hip Hop Pilgrimage. The aims of this documentary, which is directed by Filmmaker Mette Reitzel are to educate a chosen demographic about the constraints of being females within the Hip Hop genre. Al-Jazeera called it "a universal story about friendship, love and idealism, and two young women finding their place in the world." This documentary explores the origins of the Poetic duo and how the music listened to whilst growing up impacted on the style of music they choose to release today. The adjustment in religious practices is also a key feature within this documentary as this assisted the manner in which they behave and live in contemporary society.

Television appearances

Press coverage

1. New Nation
2. Eastern Eye
3. New Statesman:
4. Al-Ahram Weekly:
5. The Independent:
6. NRK (Norway):
7. Emel
8. The Platform Magazine
9. Hip Hop Connection
10. Muslim Views

Radio appearances