Hanifah Walidah is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, rapper, singer,

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, educator and

LGBT activist Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...

. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with artists like The Vibe Khameleons,

Brooklyn Funk Essentials Brooklyn Funk Essentials is a music collective who mix jazz, funk, and hip hop, featuring musicians and poets from different cultures. The band was conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist and musical director Lati Kronlund. In ...

, ,

Mike Ladd Mike Ladd is an American hip hop musician from Boston, Massachusetts. He is based in Paris, France. ''The Guardian'' described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept." Early life Mike Ladd was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, he live ...

, St.Lo, and

Antipop Consortium Antipop Consortium is an American alternative hip hop group. The group formed in 1997, when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid, and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City. They are notable for their stream-of-consciousness lyric ...

Biography

Walidah was born in New York City and raised in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. At the start of her career, she joined the group

during the 1990s under the stage name Shä-Key. In 1994, Shä-Key released her debut album, ''A Head Nädda’s Journey To Adidi Skizm'' (produced by

Earl Blaize Antipop Consortium is an American alternative hip hop group. The group formed in 1997, when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid, and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City. They are notable for their stream-of-consciousness lyri ...

), mixing experimental hip-hop, soul and

beatbox Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

(featuring

Rahzel Rozell Manely Brown (born October 6, 1964) is an American beatboxer and rapper, formerly a member of the Roots. Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and his ...

who became a member of

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

). In 2004, her one-woman play, ''Black Folks' Guide to Queer Folks: Your Neighborhood Inside Out'', about

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

in the black community, opened Boston's

Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

on the Edge, an LGBT theatre festival. A review in the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' described it as a "virtual

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

in just how witty and moving theater can be". In 2005, the song "Pick It Up" (performed by Alexkid and composed by Stefane Goldman, Alexis Mauri and Hanifah Walidah) was included in the compilation ''24 Hours in Paris''. In 2007, she joined the French electro group St-Lô. In 2009, she co-directed an incidental documentary titled ''U People'' during the filming of the music video for the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

"Make a Move". The '

rockumentary A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

' explores ethnicity, race, and gender in black queer women's communities. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Paris International Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival in 2009 and was nominated for a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

for Outstanding Documentary in 2010. It became the first LGBT

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

to be screened at the

National Civil Rights Museum The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings in Memphis, Tennessee; its exhibits trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The museum is built aro ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

in 2009, "a real highlight" for Walidah. In 2012, her group St-Lô performed at the TransMusicales Festival. Stéphane Davet of the newspaper ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' wrote, "The beautiful story of a trio from Lorient crossing paths with the poet and singer from New York, Hanifah Walidah (...) Between the roughness of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, the spirit of politicized rap, and the depth of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, Miss Walidah's singing shines all the more as her energy as a performer radiates the stage". At the end of 2012, the group released its first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Room 415'', which was well-received by critics. Walidah has called herself an " androgynous female", asking to be called " Mizz" Walidah, depending on her mood. She is featured in the documentary film '' Black/Womyn: Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent'' (2008), directed by Tiona McClodden.

Discography

* ''A Head Nädda's Journey to Adidi Skizm'' * ''Adidi - The Unrocked Story'' (with Earl Blaize) *''Once Upon It Is'' *''Room 415'' (with St.Lo)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American hip hop musicians Musicians from New York City 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American actresses American LGBT rights activists {{Authority control