Poet and rebel with a purpose

"I see too many young people partying and drinking their lives away. I was not taught to be someone who sits back, watches and does nothing," said the humble young man.

Muhammad delivers his pieces with a flair and confidence that on many occasions have left audiences calling for multiple encores. Recently his words, tone, facial expressions and gesticulations were received while the listeners were captivated at NALIS Port-of-Spain.

According to rapso artiste Chike "Bukka-Roots" Pilgrim of Word Sound and Power, "Muhammad really has it. The man has the power of the word without any question. His message is clear and people really feel it."

Excerpt from "Feel It"

When I feel it I feel it...

Poets know what I talking about, When I feel it I feel it

No mistaking fire burning deep in my soul, no description for sweet pain,

no explanation, come back to the page again and again,

As though we making love, me and this ink,

orgasmic alliteration, metaphors leaving scratches on my mind,

and leaving no scratches on the page...

…This is no poem, this my forefather’s autobiography,

Because they can’t stop we…no, no, no they can’t stop the blood curdling scream of the warrior in me,

Just like they couldn’t stop my mother’s screams when the doctors could see,

My head, then shoulders and legs that would walk on a path predestined,

God’s blessings, in word, every second and every third verse is worship,

So I can’t take credit for these verses…"

Regarding his early life Muhammad said, "Well I was born in Carenage at Upper School Street basically in the bush. We didn’t have lights or water and lived in a board house next to the river. I lived in Carenage until I was three years old and then we moved to the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen compound on Mucurapo Road in St James. I grew up with the experience of frequent police raids at our home. I saw my front door kicked in by officers of the law. With this being the way I grew up I just automatically thought that that was the way that the world worked.

"I recall the war on drugs that my father and his colleagues waged so even though I was young I thought of drugs as negative. When I saw the police attacking people like that while they were trying to stop something bad I came to stop accepting all that they put to me on TV and in the newspapers.

"When I was six years old there was a night when everyone just started moving out of the compound. We moved to Belmont with my grandmom. Then I saw the Imam on TV and I was told that what was taking place was a coup but wasn’t sure what that meant. We moved twice following the coup because of the anti-Muslim sentiments held by the authorities. My mother monitored us and restricted our movements to the point where I couldn’t bring friends home and it was all as a result of the incident in 1990."

Muhammad’s impetus to write was born out of a quite uncommon circumstance.

The Speak Easy and UWI Speak co-host said, "While my father was incarcerated he used to write to me all the time and me and my mother would visit him whenever we could. Based on his letters I began writing poetry. My entire family is creative with music, writing and other forms of art. I may have gotten the ability as a blessing in the family."

Muhammad spoke highly of his family and made a call for fathers in particular to play instrumental roles in the lives of their children.

"My dad always supported me in every single thing that I did, even if he had to give us his last he would be there for my sisters and I. I eventually ended up living with him and at the time I was at an early stage of my secondary school career at CIC. I really didn’t want to go to CIC but QRC because a very close friend was going to go there. When I was placed in the accelerated class I recall purposely failing exams just so I wouldn’t have to skip Form Three. That really wasn’t the place for me.

"I recall their ‘horticultural programme’ which actually consisted of mowing lawns. I stood against that because I didn’t see why they didn’t teach us something about agriculture instead. They just used this activity to fill the time of the non-Catholics in the school. From that point on I had a reputation for being rebellious," Muhammad reflected with a smirk on his face.

He continued, "Well obviously I didn’t get back into CIC for Sixth Form and decided to go to St Anthony’s and well…I was born a Muslim but the life I started living at that time wasn’t in accordance with what I learned growing up. I got involved in the whole DJ thing and the party life. My friend who had gone to QRC was like a check for me as I was a check for him and when we parted ways when he went to Libya I strayed a little. However, by the time I was nearing the end of my Lower Six year my friend came back to Trinidad and encouraged me to return to Libya with him. I would be in a position to get closer to my religion and learn more of aspects of Islam such as the language of Arabic. My father was in full support and so was my grandmother…until the September 11 bombings."

He laughed as he said, "No! I had nothing to do with the bombings."

"While in Libya I did a lot of maturing and being away from my family and friends sometimes I had to dig deep. At times you can only call on God and I did a lot of that over there. After eight months we were speaking the language but that was really tough at times. Adapting to the food, the climate and so many other differences could take a toll on anyone who hadn’t had the experience before. I had to make one Snicker bar last me a year. At times the temperature would be 47 degrees and then it would be ten degrees," recalled Muhammad.

Muhammad summarised the impact of his Libyan experience by saying: "The time over there gave me a different perspective of Trinidad as compared to that society which had very little crime and basically no murders. Some say that their situation is a dictatorship but the ‘lovely’ democracy of Trinidad is really questionable. Based on this I began to question all the lies I was fed especially through the international media. I have a lot of ideas for change in TT.

"While in Libya I met people from all over the world. For example, my discussions with some older people from Africa brought me to compare our ideology with theirs. We are really told a lot of things about Africa and western media doctrine on the continent is largely unfounded."

One of the pieces which Muhammad is best known for is entitled "I write." The piece has been featured on radio programme, Gazelle TV and Muhammad’s work earned him a feature spot in Canal’s Freedom Concert. So, why does he write?

"What keeps me writing is that I realised that God gave me a gift and I would use that gift for the benefit of the people. I think that the job of an artist is to use his or her talent to change the space that they are in for the better. I see us as artists and as a people failing in that aspect. An example is when the government moved their emphasis away from calypso and extempo and other basic aspects of the culture that act as social commentary. That is what it supposed to be! A form of rebellion. It is up to us to affect change but we don’t do it and the few who do are sidelined."

Muhammad is critical of the generation of which he is a part. He declared, "Our generation has failed itself. We have been set on a self-destructive path by those who came before us and now we are just doing the same thing. If the generation continues we will soon have a nation of free-drink, party-attending alcoholics. The powers that be have convinced us that there is nothing left to fight for. As a result we have a sea of monotony and our individuality is lost."

Where does this poet see himself in the near future?

"We’ll take this movement as far as we can go and spread the message to the largest number as possible. I will not be one of those who says that there is anything wrong with making money off of art in any form. If I happen to make money with this I’m cool with that but I will never sacrifice the message and mission for the sake of money. Never!"