Regular readers of IslamOnline will recognize the name Adisa Banjoko from the articles he’s done for the site. However many Muslims probably don’t know that Banjoko, known in music circles as "The Bishop of Hip Hop", has had a long career as both a Hip Hop Artist and a Hip Hop journalist.

As a performer, he was one of a handful of Muslim rappers who brought Islamic themes into a musical genre that was, at the time, split between socially relevant themes and more materialistic ones. Since then, he has gone on to write at great length on social themes in Hip Hop and other topics.

This summer Banjoko will complete his most ambitious work to date, Chicken Soup for the Hip Hop Soul, which will be the latest in the wildly popular series of Chicken Soup books originated by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen. As with other books in the series, Banjoko’s book will center on the positive aspects of Hip Hop and more philosophical issues related to art.

Banjoko recently spoke to IslamOnline about Islam, his career and his view on life as he prepares to transition from journalist to author.

IslamOnline: You have been a well-known personality in the world of Hip Hop for the better part of 15 years. In that time you've gone from rapper, to journalist and now to writer with your upcoming book "Chicken Soup for the Hip Hop Soul." What does it mean to you, for your journey in this entertainment genre to have come so far?

Adisa Banjoko: Well, honestly, I don’t think of myself as having gone too far. I have been writing for mainly Hip Hop publications for the better part of 15 years. I used to rap, and despite the fact we never got signed [to a record label], we played with acts like Paris, Brand Nubian and Gang Starr among others. But writing has always been my main passion, and to have FINALLY gotten a book deal, after all these years, does feel great.

IOL: You've been Muslim for nearly as long as you've been involved in Hip Hop. Going back to the early days of your career, how did Islam shape the kind of music you did and how did it shape your overall path as a musician?

Adisa: I converted to Islam in late 1990. It was a very tough time for me, as I was trying to discover who I was as a man. Islam helped me see beyond myself. I actually made songs like "Praying to the East", and a few others that were sprinkled with Islamic theology. I performed these songs around the world for thousands of people, and even did on TV a few times. It’s amazing because of all the songs I ever made, THAT song is the one people remember me the most for.

In 1993 I performed it at Stuttgart, Germany in front of thousands of people. There was an older Turkish Muslim in the crowd – he was about 60-years-old – who was drinking alcohol at the show. After seeing me do "Praying to the East", he put his beer down and thanked me for performing. He said he was going to return more diligently back to the path of Islam. I just told him Allah [swt] is the one who orchestrates all events, but that I was happy to be used by Allah [swt] as a tool for him to help him refine his deen [religion]. Other people have been used by Allah [swt)] to help me refine my deen.

IOL: In some of your performances, you and the other members of your group would toss out copies of the "Autobiography of Malcolm X" from the stage. That's gotta be a first for a rap group. What made you want to do that? How did audiences respond? And was it consciously your hope to bring audiences closer to the religion of Islam through your performances?

Adisa: Yeah, my rap group was called Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187. TROOP stood for Through Revolution Of Our People. 187 is the police homicide code, and Malcolm X said that the price of freedom was death. So that's where the name came from.

Everyone in the group loved Malcolm. We’d buy boxes of Malcolm X autobiographies and write messages on the inside of the cover, like "Do you know yourself? Find out inside this book". Others would say "Arm yourself with intellect" and stuff like that. It had a profound effect on the crowd. It kept us broke, but it was spiritually enriching beyond measure.

We also had people performing Capoeria [Brazilian Martial arts] as well as Eskrima Serrada [Filipino martial arts] while we rapped. We had a Moroccan flag hanging in front of the turntables- it was wild. People know that the TROOP was the real deal. I guess that's part of why we never got signed. We wanted to move people spiritually, socially, mentally and physically. I wanted to show Islam’s humanity through music.

IOL: In terms of music, there are often some rather unsavory aspects to the industry. How did you manage Islamically in the midst of an entertainment culture that frequently extols vice and debauchery? Additionally, was your decision to shift into the world of Hip Hop journalism a move to get away from some of that lifestyle and take a more mature path for yourself?

Adisa: Yeah the entertainment world is deep with dirt. However, many artists who get caught up in it are just spiritually lost souls. I was an alcoholic at 16. But I gave it up on my own by the time I left high school. I also left pork alone after reading Malcolm X, two years before I took [my] Shahada (the Islamic profession of faith). So it wasn’t that hard to maintain honestly.

A firm deen [religion] is a firm deen. If you tell people a few times that you don’t smoke weed, or that you don’t drink, people start to remember and they respect that. After a while word gets out and nobody even offers you that stuff anymore.

I left the world of performing mainly because my group fell apart and I was getting burnt out on trying to revive it. I then got married to my loving wife Mieko and performing became somewhat of a burden. Family became much more of a priority, and writing was still a core passion of mine.

IOL: As a journalist, much of your focus has been on making readers more socially, culturally and religiously aware. What messages have been foremost in your writing thus far?

Adisa: Mostly, I try to help people be more aware of how sacred the mind, body and soul are without preaching [which is hard]. My goal is to instill self- esteem, discipline and love for all of humanity.

IOL: Tell us a little about your new book project, Chicken Soup for the Hip Hop Soul. Where did the idea come from and how does this book fit with the overall scheme of the "Chicken Soup" series?

Adisa: I was pulled into the project by Kool Kyle, whom I had met through a MC friend of mine name James Ex-sel. I was working on writing the history of Hip Hop for the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts in San Francisco and he came to visit me. We hit it off from the [starting] gate, and now the book [is] in the works and should be out by the end of the year, inshallah [God-willing].

Basically, this book will be the first book written by the people of the Hip Hop community. Hip Hop has empowered people economically, socially, and spiritually. Chicken Soup for the Hip Hop Soul will tell these stories to the world.

DJ Qbert, Chuck D, MTV’s Sway, the female MC Mystic, KRS ONE and many others will be in the book. But this book will mainly be written by the everyday Hip Hop person on the street, because they push the art forward.

IOL: There has been a great deal of buzz over this book. MTV picked up on it as did VH1, the San Francisco Examiner and many other media outlets. What does this tell you about where Hip Hop is in American culture today?

Adisa: It confirms what I already knew – that Hip Hop culture is a global culture. What started in the streets of the South Bronx in New York is now in San Francisco, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. It sells hamburgers and cars. It is as American as apple pie.

IOL: Do you feel you have some weighty personal responsibility in doing this book? After all, you represent one of the most positive and conscious trends in Hip Hop music and additionally you represent a Muslim point of view. So is there added pressure with this book?

Adisa: There is no pressure. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I have been a student of Hip Hop since I was 12. I have seen much of the good that Hip Hop has given the world. Hip Hop gave me Islam. Plus, what many people who are not familiar with Hip Hop see on TV and hear on the radio is NOT what real fans of that listen to. So I will attempt to show those who don’t know Hip Hop culture its true beauty, beyond the gold chains and the alcohol and the half-naked women.

IOL: What is your message to Muslims – especially the Muslim youth – with this book? Is there some overriding understanding of Hip Hop you would like them to walk away with after reading this book?

Adisa: I would like them mainly to contribute stories to this book. I’d like them to go and tell the world what they have gotten from Hip Hop. Sometimes the Muslim youth see these rappers and want to be like them, in terms of dunya [the material world]. But really, the ARTISTS want to be like the Muslims in terms of akhira [the afterlife]. They respect Islam.

Young Muslims need to know that Allah [swt] has already blessed them with something much more precious than a diamond pendant, or a platinum album. I hope that sisters especially write in. I know a lot of sisters that are into Hip Hop. I know a Muslim sister who works in advertising for one of the biggest record companies on the planet. I know another who manages a lot of today's rap artists. I know that the minds of the Muslim women are much stronger and refined than most people give them credit for. So I do hope that they share their experiences through Hip Hop as well. We are also accepting poetry and art. All written submissions that get chosen will get the writer $300.

IOL: Is this book the Grand Finale for "The Bishop of Hip Hop" with reference to your involvement in this musical genre? Or do you have other writing and other projects waiting in the wings? After all, you have done spoken word poetry that has appeared on recent releases from artists such as Encore. Is Adisa "The Poet" next?

Adisa: I have a book called The Light from the East: An Islamic Hip Hop Handbook that I was putting the finishing touches on. This book will illustrate how much Islam as affected Hip Hop culture. I was working on it before the Chicken Soup thing, but it’s kinda on hold for now.

Encore and I were talking last week about possibly doing something on his next album. Some people have asked me to release "Praying to the East". A few other artists have approached me about doing some spoken word stuff for them as well; but only Allah [swt] knows. For now, I’m just trying to focus on this book. I want to make a classic. I hope the Muslims who read this do take the time to share their stories. Because this book will only be as good as the Hip Hop community wants it to be.