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SAIDA DAHIR – THE WALKING STEREOTYPE<\/h1>\n
\u201cSaida Dahir\u2019s blistering spoken word performance about her fear of school shootings and <\/span>the political hypocrisy that follows electrified the crowd at Salt Lake City\u2019s March for Our Lives.\u201d <\/span>\u2013Mother Jones<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n
An 18-year-old Muslim Somali refugee living in Salt Lake City, Utah, Saida Dahir<\/b> writes incredibly compelling poetry reflective of her experience living in the United States. On her debut Little Village Foundation album, The Walking Stereotype<\/i>, Saida reads personally charged verses with a commanding emotional authority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe Walking Stereotype<\/i>, recorded on the eve of Saida’s high school graduation, finds the artist addressing topics such as cultural displacement, gun violence and her decision to wear a hijab. <\/span><\/p>\n“I\u2019ve been writing poetry since I was seven years old,” Saida notes, adding, “I really think that in this time, there needs to be different voices being heard. In our current political environment, poetry is a way to do that.” <\/span><\/p>\nThe Walking Stereotype<\/i> features a guest appearance by legendary veteran R&B bassist Jerry Jemmott<\/b>, who was so impressed with Saida’s poem “Justified” that he offered to record an accompanying bass line. Jemmott, who in 1971 played on Gil Scott-Heron’<\/b>s groundbreaking political anthem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,”<\/b> said of Saida, “She’s telling a story that needs to be told\u2026 I\u2019m grateful to her for having something to say, and saying it with conviction.”<\/span><\/p>\nThe album also includes percussion from Vicki Randle<\/b> (The Tonight Show<\/i><\/b>, Mavis Staples<\/b>) of labelmates Skip the Needle<\/b> and production by multi-instrumentalist Xochitl Morales<\/b>, herself a notable young spoken-word artist who won acclaim for her own Little Village Foundation release, Descansos<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\nSaida, who will be attending U.C. Berkeley in Fall 2019 as a dual political science and legal studies major, has already emerged as an integral leader in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and against gun violence. In 2018, her \u201cA Tribute To The Fallen\u201d graced Little Village Foundation\u2019s multi-artist album, Raise Your Voice: The Sound of Student Protest<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\nMuch of The Walking Stereotype<\/i> chronicles Saida’s struggle to embrace her own cultural identity in unfamiliar surroundings. She explains, “My family fled the civil war in Somalia to Kenya. I was born in Kenya and moved to the U.S. when I was three years old. Living as an immigrant, the caricatures and stereotypes I’ve faced, I really found my voice on this album.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n“Salt Lake City is a predominantly white and Mormon city, so in my elementary and middle school classes I had to assimilate,” she explains. “There was nobody that looked like me, and it was hard to see positive role models. It was a rough journey to find myself, and my poetry really helped with everything I faced as a child. With The Walking Stereotype<\/i>, I want people to know that anyone can get through the most surmountable challenges, and that past traumas and heartbreak do not define you. I want to make a difference to people all around the world.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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