Frequently Asked Questions Trailer By : Najmah53from
Hassan Abdus Salaam
Najmah means Star
Nicole Najmah Abraham aka "Najmah53" a spoken word artist, motivational speaker, writer, radio personality, event promoter and entrepreneur. She is a proud New York native representing Brooklyn, New York who started writing short poems at the age of 8. By age 11, her love of hip hop culture, lead her to start rapping and doing graffiti. When her family moved to South Carolina, she continued to hone her artistic and lyrical skills. By high school she was rapping in talent shows, on the local radio stations and in clubs.
At age 17, after returning to New York, Najmah53 was offered a recording deal and an opportunity to be the hip hop member of an R&B female group touring Europe. This also meant changing her image to fit in with the current trends of wearing hair weaves, fake nails, short skirts and selling sex. She refused to compromise who she was and quickly turned down the deal. Najmah53 eventually decided to give up the headaches of the mainstream hip hop industry.
After her conversion to Islam, she started to write more positive verses and spiritually-conscious poetry. She quickly began getting invited to colleges to tell her story and share her thought-provoking pieces tackling difficult subjects like racism, sexism, female body image, bullying, and Islamophobia to name a few. She has performed several pieces against war, also being invited to rallies to perform her famous poem entitled “They Shooting” against the Iraqi War. She has shared the stage with Abiodun Oyewole, legendary founding member of The Last Poets, who is quoted as describing Najmah53 as "Deception...unassuming and innocent, then she gets on a mic, and rips those words up!". She has also shared the stage with HBO Def Poetry's Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Amir Sulaiman, and Shanelle Gabriel, Black Women Rock, Jessica Care Moore, musical duo, Kindred and the Family Soul, and many more.
For the past few years Najmah53 has been on hiatus to complete a degree in Fashion Design, start her own digital media business (Najm Designs) and raise her family. In 2010, she decided she missed one of her first loves, Poetry, and started writing again. She started professionally performing in 2012, releasing her debut CD entitled "Put The Stars into Alignment 1.2" in February of that same year. Her long-awaited sophomore album, is set to release 2015. She is also working on a book set to release 2016.
As a radio personality for the national internet channel American Muslim 360 since 2011, Najmah53 hits the airwaves once a week on her own show, "SPOTLIGHT Hosted by Najmah53" where she discusses Islamic educational topics and interviews prominent Muslim figures from the all over the U.S. and abroad. As the event promoter/coordinator of 53 Productions since 2004, Najmah is well known for her community events, mainly for Women and Teens. She has coordinated fashion shows, lectures, fundraisers for charities, Interfaith Dinners, Youth Mentoring and of course Poetry events. Najmah53 performs nationally, as a Motivational Speaker, Mentor and Teaching Artist. People have been motivated through her unique journey and powerful messages of inspiration. She also mentors young girls and teens ages 12-18, doing positive workshops on art, creative writing, self-esteem, business and girl empowerment.
Najmah53 is a social activist and humanitarian at heart. She is a very vocal and vital figure whose goal is to continue using her talents to spread powerful messages and foster positive changes in her community.