IMAAN FAITH
Like a cool desert breeze that refreshes and tantalizes, Imaan Faith is sweeping through the hip-hop landscape, energizing the masses and giving us new perspectives on rap – Middle Eastern style.
Born in Iran and raised in North America, Imaan, who now calls Toronto home, brings an intriguing message of peace, positivity and more importantly, the truth.
His debut album “Let The Truth Be Known” (G.U.T.S./DEP/Universal) was released in March 2008, hitting the Soundscan Charts at an impressive #6 in its first week. The video for the lead single, the soulful Haven’t Seen U Smile (feat. Mopreme Shakur and Big Syke of Thug Life) earned quick praise, scooping an Honourable Mention award at the 2008 Toronto Reel World Film Festival and becoming one of the first urban videos to receive a ‘featured’ selection on YouTube.com, with more than 300,000 views and counting.
“It’s taken us 11 years to put this album out,” says Imaan, whose name is one of the five pillars of Islam. Imaan means ‘faith’ and it’s considered the most important. “This album is the story of my life and my experiences of hip-hop over the last 10 years.”
“It’s not just about money, girls and cars,” he explains. “It’s about dignity, pride and the desire to help your fellow human beings. I want to help everybody help themselves.”
A cast of heavyweights worked on the CD, which includes contributions from Tupac Shakur’s former producer, Johnny ‘J’, Juno-winning musician Snow and DJ-producer Clinton Sparks. Special guests include Freeway, TQ, Colby O’Donis and others who helped produce this innovative album.
A huge fan Tupac, Imaan’s flow pays props to his idol, but carves out his own identity in the process. He blends elements of poetry and spoken word with lyrical consciousness and a sweet groove. Imaan is a Persian griot with a message for the masses.
Imaan’s growing presence within Toronto’s urban and Persian music communities matches his clout across the globe - in Los Angeles, New York and of course in Iran, thanks to an active Internet buzz and his cleverly-produced videos.
The ‘Hip-Hop Prince of Persia’ discovered the scene through Tupac’s classic album, Me Against The World.
“That album kind of snuck up on me,” Imaan remembers of the disc that propelled Tupac into international stardom. It mesmerized me.”
Imaan’s journey began in 1986 when his family left Iran and moved to Toronto during the Iran-Iraq war. They moved to New York City in 1998, but returned to Canada – and its generous health care system – in 2003 after Imaan’s mother had an accident and U.S. medical costs proved exorbitant. While in New York, he went to Manhattan’s City-As-School (where Mos Def had attended), and Seward Park. He attended Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto.
His brother, Ali, witnessed first hand the rise of this burgeoning star and quickly launched G.U.T.S. Records to help push this bright new talent to the world. Selling the family cars and channeling all their savings into the album, it truly became a family affair.
Faith in God and his talent has not only given Imaan strength to persevere in the fickle hip-hop industry, but also to deal with personal health problems that might have felled lesser men. Imaan has glaucoma in both eyes, and while his sight may have fallen, his vision of the future never wavered. It’s a condition he shares with US freedom fighter Dr. Mutulu Shakur, the incarcerated adoptive father of Tupac who Imaan regularly corresponds with for advice on everything from health issues to music.
“After a recent surgery (six and counting), I’d be laying in my bed and I felt there was so much for me to do,” he says, explaining that regular meditation and repeated chants of Chinese mantras helped speed up the healing process. “I wasn’t ready to quit or give up. This ordeal has made me stronger.”
This strength is evident on his new disc, which deftly weaves personal stories of faith and redemption. Sure winners on the 18-track disc include Wanna Be Loved (featuring Akon’s latest artist Colby O), Everything else is Everything else (featuring Roca-A-Fella Records’ Freeway), and the stunning Children Of The World featuring a choir from Toronto’s famed Regent Park inner city community.
With the help of family, friends and a growing list of global supporters eager to see his success, Imaan Faith is moving the figurative pieces around the chessboard, eyeing a hip-hop checkmate when the world will know his truth, and by extension ours too.
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