Recognizing a need for community support for Muslim artists inspired the establishment of Burdah Productions. The oral tradition of transmitting knowledge has always been a vital part of Islam. During Pre-Islamic Arabia, the people of Makkah and the Hijaz region were well known for their poetry and ability to memorize well. When the message of Islam was revealed through surahs (verses) of the Qur’
an, it was through an oral transmission. All Muslims throughout the world memorize and learn Quran through this same process of recitation memorization to contemplate on during our prayers. Throughout Africa, the griot tradition similarly is an oral one that uses rhythmic and poetic devices to tell stories and transmit history and moral lessons. Hip-hop and spoken word poetry are the contemporary inheritors of this oral tradition. While hip-hop culture has become well established throughout the world, there are many talented artists that are still struggling to sustain themselves. Many mainstream artists make overt references to Islam, while many others were introduced to Islam via hip-hop. Despite there being an ongoing debate over whether Muslims should be involved in music, we hold the opinion that Islam and art can coexist. Hip-Hop and poetry are both platforms that allow the performer to eloquently teach, inspire, and entertain the listener about Allah swt and His creations. Burdah’s founder, Kaba Abdul-Fattaah, recognized that despite the sincerity and talent of so many artists in our community, they are not able to produce work as often as they would like due to a an overall lack of support and community infrastructure. Burdah Productions aims to close that gap by providing an avenue where supporters can choose a monthly membership and in return, receive exclusive content such as songs, live cast interviews, seminars, retreats, advance ticket sales for shows, and much more. Some of the longer-range goals are to support artists by linking them to resources for artist grants, health care, housing assistance, and much more.
