IMAN at the Apollo

Last night IMAN at the Apollo took place. This event had about a dozen performers, and sold out days in advance.

IMAN is Inner City Muslim Action Network and they're based out of Chicago. I first heard of IMAN when I went to their summer festival, "Takin' It to the Streets" in 2003. I was 16. Since then, IMAN has grown and evolved, and well, I'm not 16 anymore.

I have the feeling that last night is going to be seen as a landmark event for Muslims in America - IMAN sold out the Apollo, which seats 1,500, and it was Muslims putting Muslim artists on stage. The place was full of positive and invigorating energy.

Early on, like the dork I am, I watched the DJs Kid Dragon and Raichous prepare for their DJ set, and wished I could do what they can. Then I realized I should probably do what I was supposed to.

As a backstage volunteer I didn't really get to see the show except from the sidelines from time to time, but at the end I went into the audience area to watch Mos Def perform. I definitely didn't mind though as it was such an interesting experience to be a volunteer for such a huge event, especially to be a stage runner, as my role was to basically stand backstage, fetch artists or make sure they were on call for their turn, and also act as security.

The hugeness of the event isn't just that it was at the Apollo and that it sold out, but the many number of acts in the show. The stakes were definitely high backstage as all the acts had to be assembled, prepped, ready to go, and on time. Its a miracle really that all the IMAN staff, volunteers, and Apollo staff were able to pull it all off - because there were so many performers! I definitely think there were too many, but it worked out in the end.

So my experience of last night was from backstage, and I got to see first-hand what it takes to put such chaos into an orderly event. Artists would be eating, praying, or listening to their headphones minutes or seconds before they went on stage and started belting out their songs. It takes time, stamina, and talent to do that. There were so many people behind the curtain, so much activity going on, and each artist had to manage their way across and then told to walk into the limelight.

There were babies crying, artists eating sandwiches, hosts dancing, groupies, security men whistling...I definitely took it all in and am grateful I got to see the other side of the show.

Now, finally, here are some songs from a few of the artists who performed last night. Enjoy!

This is "Rise Up" by Alex Schein



The Reminders are a husband-wife duo and are tons of fun to watch live.



Outlandish were also present and performed three tunes, including this one "Kom Igen." There was no dupatta present. I was hoping they'd do "Guantanamo", but they didn't.




And of course Mos Def was the last act. He wore jeans and a jean jacket and tried to shuffle like James Brown. It was a lovable performance, and he performed this classic of his:


PS this is a pretty good review of the event.