Immigrant Songs: Essam

I first met Essam in May of 2015, when he was still a student at the University of Washington - Bothell campus, and I spoke on a panel at his school titled Music & The Arts of Social Justice. It was my first time at UW's Bothell campus, and I didn't get that it's a commuter school. So, when Essam came up at the end of the panel and told me he was from the Southend of Seattle, too, I halfway didn't know if I should believe him. Bothell is a long drive from Holly Park. But Essam was telling the truth, and I didn't know I just met someone who in a few short years I would regard as one of the most innovative and important artists from the neighborhood where I grew up.
 
Later in 2015, still as a college student, Essam was one of the key organizers in a weeklong series of events in Seattle that brought together Muslim artists from all over the country, and world. I was in the audience at Seattle Central College for a panel on Malcolm X's influence on Hip-Hop with greats thinkers from the culture like Brother Ali, One Be Lo, and Alia Sharrief, followed by a showcase of talent that was so raw and so electric that I will be holding the memory of it close to my heart for the rest of my life. The love, the vulnerability, and the courage in that room. I don't even remember how many artists shared the stage that night, but I know it was the first time I ever saw Facesoul (a.k.a. Faisal Salah), Ahlaam Abduljalil, Rell Be Free, and it was the first time I saw Essam perform his debut single "West Is My Home."

 
The video for "West Is My Home" was released in May of 2016, just a little over a year after we first met, and it was the world's introduction to both Essam and his partner on production, Petty Pro. I remember watching the video and thinking "this is the new voice of the Southend" as I heard an experience and saw faces that truly reflect the neighborhood I know: Black, Brown, Asian, Muslim. Our families are from all over the map, but here we can stand together, because of Hip-Hop. And to truly understand Seattle's Southend you have to learn about displacement, patterns of migration, intergenerational trauma, and what it means to carry home with you. It's what happens when both migrants and refugees are resettled in one neighborhood for so many decades. Since I was a child, the neighborhood was made up of families from the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mexico, Somalia, Cambodia, Eritrea, and so many more. The rest of Seattle doesn't exactly reflect where we grew up. Essam was raised in a home with a family indigenous to both Morocco and Vietnam. His is a Southend story. When I saw that first video I recognized all this, but the next part is something I didn't catch onto until way later: Essam's music is constructed using nothing but the sound of human voices. Really. All of it. In our interview for Immigrant Songs, we talked a bit about why, and where the influence comes from. 

In the 5 years since Essam's debut video, I've watched him tour the world several times over. He's not performing in what many would consider traditional venues (that sell alcohol), but he's building community everywhere he goes and seeing the impact of his Hip-Hop Nasheeds on young people in countries I don't know if he ever imagined himself performing in. Just as an example, days after our in-studio Essam flew to Bosnia. He's also released 2 albums: his debut 12.12 in 2018, and the stellar #chapter20six (with producer Petty Pro) which made my year-end list for the year of 2020. Here in Seattle, I've seen Essam turn rooms that weren't even meant to be venues into sacred spaces where young people from the Southend are performing their hearts out. He's brought several artists that he met on his travels here to Seattle as well, and he continues to build bridges everywhere he goes. For the in-studio performance, Essam is joined by another community builder: DJ Pax, and beatboxer/filmmaker extraordinaire CDQ. The visual side of Essam and CDQ's work together is such a gift and a beautiful reflection of where we're from, and I'm so excited that they shared brand new music with us here on KEXP.

About Immigrant Songs: Immigrant Songs is a series presented and produced by KEXP, with support from The Vilcek Foundation. Through in-studio performances, interviews with local and national artists, and other written content, KEXP DJ curators will explore the immigrant experience. Read more stories here. 

About The Vilcek Foundation: The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation, to honor the contributions of foreign-born scholars and artists living in the United States, was inspired by the couple’s careers in biomedical science and art history, respectively, as well as their personal experiences and appreciation for the opportunities they received as newcomers to this country. The foundation awards annual prizes to immigrant biomedical scientists and artists and sponsors cultural programs such as the Hawaii International Film Festival. To learn more, visit Vilcek.org.