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Neelofer Mir
Category: Performing
Music
Country: United Kingdom
About
Neelofer Mir is a Muslim rapper from London. As an emerging hip hop artist, Neelofer blends lyrical language with smooth beats, rapping about the hidden strength of women, faith, ideals of beauty, and gender equity. Of Pakistani descent, she has worked with DJ Talvin Singh, an award-winning artist, and was also included in the Sisterhood Project, a collective of up-and-coming female Muslim rappers and vocalists.1 In her song, “Wildflower,” Neelofer raps about others being too “scared to notice” her and of the unexpected, “roaring beauty” that can be found within with her, and in “Do You Follow,” she explores a spiritual, natural world while implicating the limitations of humanist technology.2
As one of the few Muslim female rappers in the business, Neelofer has faced challenges in being recognized as a performance artist within the Muslim community. Despite her love for music, Neelofer said that female Muslim artists are doubly challenged in being accepted by a male-dominated rapping industry and by the Muslim community. In one interview, Neelofer discussed the difficulties of “Baring your soul on stage. ”3 She said, “…There is a an old-school mentality, very much alive today, that women really don’t belong in the performing arts – they should remain in the domestic arena. And me being a strong-minded, very opinionated female from a Muslim family, it’s difficult for me, because I’m seen as going against the grain.”4
However, as a fan of artists like Jill Scott and Alicia Keys, she finds no conflict in pursuing her passion while remaining true to her faith. In another interview, Neelofer said, “My passion for music and my faith are not two separate entities but are one. My talent for creative expression was God given and therefore my passion for music and words only reinforces my faith it does not conflict with it.”5
[1] Interview with the Members of the Sisterhood Project, Punjab2000.com.
[2] Neelofer Mir’s MySpace page.
[3] Vic Motune, “Sing Out Sisters,” New Statesmen, July 14, 2008.
[4] ibid.
[5] Interview with the Members of the Sisterhood Project, Punjab2000.com.
