American-born Islamic militant wages Jihad on rap
Published: April 12, 2011
WASHINGTON -- An American-born Islamic militant has launched an unprovoked attack on rap and hip hop.
Omar Hammami, an American citizen who grew up in Alabama, is now a senior commander with al-Shabaab, a group in Somalia linked to al-Qaida. If that weren’t bad enough, he is trying to lay down some rhymes, as first reported by “The Long War Journal,” a respected blog on Islamic terrorism.
Hammami, also known as Abu Mansoor al Amriki, has released two attempts at rap, both of which can be heard at "Wired" magazine's blog "Danger Room." “Send me a Cruise,” in which he pines to be obliterated by a “paradise missile”; and “Make Jihad with Me,” which sounds an awful lot like a love song with its line, “Make Jihad with Me/ Allahu Akbar/ get some more booty.”
Just because Hammami has some new songs out doesn’t mean he is alive. (Consider Tupac.) Hammami was allegedly killed last month, though his death has not been officially confirmed. He could have recorded the songs earlier. But Bill Roggio, who runs “The Long War Journal,” says sources tell him that Hammami is alive, and al-Shabaab has not released a martyrdom tape.
Stripes Central reached out to rap artists like Eminem, Dr. Dre and even Vanilla Ice to see what they thought of the songs, but none responded. Perhaps they were too horrified by Hammami’s rhymes to comment.
Instead, Stripes Central has a few tips for Hammami about how he can spruce up his songs:
1. Wear your pants backward. It worked for Kriss Kross.
2. Gain street cred by getting shot. Then you will be a “thug.”
3. If you’re going to write about getting booty, listen to Nate Dogg to see how it’s done.
4. Come up with a catchy album name like, “The Boyz in Jihad.”
5. If you’re still around and really want to get taken out by a cruise missile, e-mail us your location. We know people who can make it happen.
