The Hijabi Rapper Co-Signed by Diddy and Will Smith

Along with the rise of modest fashion, we’re also witnessing the emergence of the hijabi rapper.

Last year, Mona Haydar’s debut music video ‘Hijabi’ made headlines all over the world, garnering almost 5million views on YouTube. This year, all eyes have shifted to Neelam Hakeem, who—in classic 2018 fashion—went viral after posting her take on the freestyle rap ‘What Y’all Wanna Do’ challenge.

And just like Haydar, Hakeem’s music is pretty woke. In the short one-minute video, the rapper featured a diverse set of women, and covered everything from Sandra Bland, to Colin Kaepernick’s NFL protests, and what it means to be a black Muslim woman in America.

The video made its way to rapper and Bad Boy Records founder Diddy, who praised the emerging rapper on his Instagram.

After the widespread positive response that ensued, Hakeem continued sharing her work. In another video, Neelam donned a golden hijab while rapping to the beat of Jaden Smith’s ‘Ghost’.

The video, published just last month, caught the attention of Diddy once again and he quickly reposted it, dubbing Hakeem a ‘Queen’.

Queen @neelam_ back at it again! ?✊? #blackexcellence #revolt

A post shared by Diddy (@diddy) on Jul 18, 2018 at 8:36pm PDT

Jaden’s father, Will Smith—who quickly rose up the Instagram ranks this year after finally creating an account on the social media platform—was also impressed with Neelam’s lyricism and flow. The actor shared the video with his 21 million followers, which has since been viewed over five million times.

HOT! ・・・ Repost @neelam_ ・・・ I ain’t got time for you posers I am the gun in the holster Dunk on you like the posters Turn a boss to a Chauffeur Tell him to stop  Drive up the block  Open the door  Don’t say no more Now you can talk Now you can walk Put in the keys  Put it in park U hate #trump I should rock wit ya? Your conscious now cuz its popular I see you fakes with binoculars  I kill your taste like binaca does  Go stand over there -kilometers I need space -astronomer He says I’m hot- thermometer  What’s else rhymes- barometer  Internet trolls with the threats Say hello to my set  Every woman needs an army All My brothers break concrete  Oh he’s a pimp u should leave em Tell that chump you don’t need em To a queen that is treason Make him leave for no reason Think u woke cuz u vegan  Kids dying you don’t see them? Juniors dead you don’t see em? #justiceforjunior It all erased cuz you plant based? War ends with a handshake I extend til my hand aches Equality on the mandate 40 acres of the landscape I know you love the flow I know you love the clothes The real ones repost Everyone else is like I’m ghost Song by @c.syresmith “Ghost” #neelam #jaden #ghost #femalerapper #rap @jadapinkettsmith #jadapinkettsmith @willsmith #willsmith @willowsmith #willowsmith @christianrich

A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) on Jul 19, 2018 at 8:17am PDT

American actor and film producer Wesley Snipes soon hopped on the bandwagon too, taking to his twitter to praise the young rapper.

Quiet…a Queen is speaking ?? #NeelamHakeem pic.twitter.com/1w3GkxdR8B

— WS (@wesleysnipes) July 19, 2018

Overwhelmed with the positive feedback, Hakeem took a break from posting snapshots of her stylish ensembles to express her excitement on her Instagram feed: “I’ll never get used to people I look up to showing me love!!!” she wrote.

It’s safe to say Hakeem’s year is shaping up to be a great one. We can’t wait to see what the upcoming months have in store for her.

Photo credits to @dillon_ivory