Lyrical Gangstaz

Holla!

Alright, so Taha and I frequently talk via Gmail chat, right? We'll send random messages to each other and stuff. It's all very cute and hot at the same time. Well, today was an exceptional day. Taha randomly started to freestyle and soon enough, it ignited a lyrical battle of the ages...

Taha:
ha
love the word
from the turd who eats curd
and belongs to the tribe of the Kurds
only one word can curb
the rave that women crave which is known as the mean w the tight fade

Me:
lol ... go Taha, go Taha...

Taha:
he uses no blade
to get paid
he is the man w a plan

Me:
b/c he's dwayne wade?

Taha:
and he has all the fans eating out of his hands.
too bad can cant bang like vera wang
bc he is too busy

Me:
but we listen to the wu-tang

Taha:
listening to wu tang clan
while sippin on orange flavored TANG ready to sip on chai while he is so high (take it over imran...i just killed it...)

Me: lol...aite... he is high but the nigga aint ready to die
why?
because.....umm... uh...yeah...check it...

Taha:
fyi this has got to on the blog b4 we dIE!
looks like im a tru nig and all u are is a confedeate whig

Me:
Man you know I'll do that, or is that just a big fat lie?
LOL...confederate whig?? Nigga, I'll break you like twig
what?!

Taha:
one sec phn call but dont worry i be readt ball to haul ur arse and make u look like a farce
man u so whack like crack
u so phat
let me clear my throat

Me:
like a big ol kitty cat

Taha:
im a g.o.a.t

Me:
as long as you don't gloat or choke
baaaaaaaaa!

Taha:
(greatest of all time)

Me:
you done killed it keep it coming...

Taha:
i just filled it
like a jelly donut from (help me out)

Me:
Dunkin Donuts. Yo, brotha, you making these females go nuts!
Man, I know how you like 'em big ol butts

Taha:
lol go immy go immy
do that dooky booty shuffle
and keep that hustle
and never tussle

Me:
you my dog like a mut

Taha:
u smell like smut

Me:
oh hell no...dang

Taha:
from king tuts butt

Me:
man, you still drinking that spiked orange tang?

Taha:
yo yo dont bust ur nut
naw dawg im sippin on pakola like lee iokoka

Me:
Man, you one big ol pizza hut.
You got extra pepperoni, but you still my homie

Taha:
yo i gotta bust on u ....u stuck on me like glue and smell like poo
ooooo oooo oooo!

Me:
daaaanng!
alright...now check this because this is when i begin to wreck this nigga,
why you tryin to test this?

Taha:
check yo self b4 u wreck yo self

Me:
why you stealin lines now?
Go eat some curry with plow (sp)
my lyrics are like "oh wow"

Taha:
how u gonna bring food
u one fat ass dude
we be fastin

Me:
LOL...true

Taha:
u be thugin
and always looking for some lovin

Me:
and you be clubbin
from your cousin

Taha:
i be beat boxin
while u be breakin lookin like a fake
old rake
haha

Me:
who me a rake? and fake?
please, why don't you jump in the friggen lake?
for goodness sake
and never forget to eat your Frosted Flakes

Taha:
why bc theyre greeeeaaaaattttttt
show em ur a tiger show em what u can do OH i forgot who i was talking to
yea im talking about u

Me:
ooohh!

Taha:
19 yrs going and we still aint knowin when u gonna be blowin
19 = 10

Me:
oh hell no.
this broke fool messed up on our 10 year anniversary.
Man, why you tryin to make me your adversary?

Taha:
aint no sweat u like a locked in bet....im ready to rock on on the block ....the mouse ran up the clock
his name was imran from clinphone and now im gonna send him home
what ya got

Me:
[no response was given at this point]

Taha:
what u tryin to hate by takin a break
man u i knew u was fake
yo u bulbus
like hassan said
ur name aint fred
ur rhymes are weak like that geek
fred rogers

Me:
man, you made me nearly speechless. But then I remembered that you're that fool from My Next Trade but you ain't never quite make my grade...at least not with your whacked out fade.....yeah...and I'm talkin about your hair and your game...man, everything about you is so lame.

Taha:
oooooooh snap
u talking about my fade
lol...yo i aint tryin to hate but i need a break ....my rhymes are worth more than ur time which is valued at a dime....do the math...u talk crap...and eat flapjacks
all by urself ...go to jenny and get some help

Me:
oh damn
well, now check this...

Taha:
what u waiting for mic check 1...2 , 3, and 4...
what u on ur knees like a #$%!

Me:
[whoa there, buddy...let's not get graphic...it's Ramadan]

Taha:
i wil be graphic if u cant handle it
then u need to quit it
b4 u get punked out like your fade

Me:
wait...meeting...time can be so fleeting...but I'll be back...to teach you why I have this rhyming knack

Taha:
tizight

And that was the end of that one hour going back-n-forth rap tirade. If you didn't get any of this, then you're obviously not gangsta-inclined or from the streets like T-Money and Pac Daddy are.

Watch out Jin, MC Juice, Biggie, Eminem, etc...

Holla back, ya'all!

LA

Hey

I was recently in LA for two days for work. First time ever. I was busy with work most of the time, but what I saw I really liked. LA and Santa Monica continue to add to my current perception of California being a fictional place of surreal happiness and perfect weather with gorgeous sunsets...

No, I didn't see David Hasselhoff running on the beach. Or Pamela Anderson or Yasmine Bleeth or...

But, LA does have gorgeous people...

Peace and Love, my brothers

Prince Hassan

Happy Birthday, dude.

Food for Thought (RE: Thank Allah It's Jummah)

AA

Though I have a good idea who it may be, an anonymous reader posted a very insightful comment on the recent blog entry Thank Allah It's Jumma. Please do read it.

I guess when I first watched the video, I didn't look at it in that way. Rather, I thought it was more so a commentary on how some people perceive certain aspects of Islam in perhaps an exaggerated way. I don't think the intent of the director and writer was to beguile viewers on the importance of our worship. Instead, he showed the perspective of how growing up in America may lead some people to actually view things with skepticism. After getting some sense knocked into them (almost literally in this video), however, they come to realize the importance and beauty of the deen.

I guess what I enjoyed aside from some of the comedic aspects of it was again its social commentary of the interesting Muslim dynamics we live with here in America. The Muslim rapper (how many of those do we know -- and don't include me in that!!). The khatib that really does try to fit in everything about Islam he knows during the khutbah, but every point he makes is typically incongruous.

I'll have to watch the part about the use of hadith for the wudu guy because I think that while the intention of the director was not to make light of acts of ibadah, we must also exercise some degree of caution because it may allow for the possibility to take things lightly and to a point of disregard for critical components of the deen. Washing as much of your arm, feet, etc. as possible because you want it to shine on the DOJ is not something that is in anyway untrue or comical. Perhaps that was an example of what the anonymous reader meant? That just ain't right. I know I'll need all the noor possible on that day inshaAllah!

In no way do I ever support anyone making light of our sacred forms of ibadat. Azubillah.

Anyway, some thoughts that I had on the comment, which I do appreciate and definitely think that people should take stock in.

May Allah guide us all and overlook our shortcomings. Ameen.

Cool Webiste -- Pandora

Hi

Courtesy of Ali, I have found a possible new favorite website for music: Pandora.

These guys created a "Music Genome Project" which allows you to search for music then it will play it if it has it in the database. But the point of this website is that it analyzes the music of the artist you enter and plays similar styles. Here, the founder can explain it better than me:

http://www.pandora.com/mgp.shtml

Anyway, if you like music and all, you'll probably like the website, too. Once you start playing around with it, you'll get hooked. They did a phenom job of designing it.

Scroll down my blog under the "Archive" and "Links" section on the right-hand side of the page to see what songs I'm listening to from there.

holla

"Thank Allah It's Jumma" -- Imran J. Khan

AA

Props go to Fahad's cousin out in Cali for putting this together. This other Imran is talented and pretty funny (something about the name no doubt, eh?):

The crazy wudu guy is hysterical!!

Cheers

Paris Video

Hello

Well, I had to give you guys at least one video from my recent trips. Here's one from Paris late night, so it's a little dark:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=imran+shakur+paris


Bonjour!

The Louvre

Hi

Holla

London Update

Fish and chips, anyone?

Cheers from the good old UK, mates. I got in from Paris yesterday evening and have been enjoying some good times with all my family out here in the lovely London area. I've got my two khalas out here, a bunch of my cousins, and of course a handful of nephews (for you gora-fied people, those nephews would be my 'second cousins').

It's funny that I'm here again; twice in just a matter of a few months. Prior to April of this year, it was nearly 22 years since I had been to London. Hopefully my luck continues and I can go back to Pakistan soon.

A tip for those travelling here: Make sure you have the phone number and address of the place or family you're staying with. It will make the London-Heathrow Airport security experience less cumbersome. The first security guy was nice enough to let me go after I told him that I was going to Surrey, which is a county in the UK (so it'd be like telling someone at O'Hare that you're going to DuPage or Cook County). After he reminded me of that fact, I told him the only other name I know is Sutton, the town where my family lives in. Fortunately I had my phone and told him I could call home and get that info, but he let me go after writing my home address down. But as I continued walking, a security agent immediately approached me and asked me the same questions the other guy did, but went into more detail. This lasted five minutes and then he took my passport (probably to run a background check on me) and came back five minutes later. I had to explain why I went to Paris, what I do for a living, and why am I here in the UK. I told him that my company was based in the UK, so they probably did a quick check on that just to confirm it. I guess I can't blame them. A Pakistani guy with an Arabic name travelling by himself and not knowing his exact destiation does sound a bit odd. Stupid Imran. But, I was very cooperative and nice to the guy, of course, so he let me go and thanked me for my time.

Anyway, the first thing I did was go to a really good Portuguese restaruant called Nandos with Rani Aunty, Ridah, and Raafae. The food, as Farooq would say, was phenom. Nandos is a chain restaurant out here and some of the restaurants will have halal meat because of the omnipresent Asian (i.e. desi) population. Can't go wrong with that.

And so today I pretty much chillaxed with all my family. Made fun of Sami (i.e. Samia) out being older, though she tries her best to deny it. Played with the little ones a bit (they totally killed me in a pillow fight). Ate some great iftari food cooked by Shuda Khala. Joked with Sami that the only reason she wanted me to go to the mall with her was so that she could showcase me as some sort of young man trophy to everyone (to which she of course replied jokingly -- I think -- 'Wouldn't be the first time...'). We all made fun of Talha for looking soooooooo nervous and excited that his wife Mahem was finally coming from Pakistan tomorrow. They are a newly wed couple (back in February) and he hasn't seen her in person since. Now that's a killer for any guy. Married, but the wife is not with you. So, Alhamdullilah, I'm happy for the guy. But I'm not really expecting to see him after tomorrow...

Okay, sahoor is coming up soon. I should leave. Tomorrow should be fun as I get to see Musharraf give some sort of talk where they'll also have iftari. On Saturday I have to go check out some larkee for one of my bros (who I just may end up stealing for myself as he is well aware of...haha) and possibly later on tomorrow is another girl to check out, too. Oh and Sunday, too. :) I love having two khalas in the same area.

Until then, blokes!

Salaam

Paris Update 2

Bonjour!

Still living it up here in Paris, folks. Even though it's nearly 2:30am and I'm working, but that's just the way it goes. Paris has its price.

So my meetings earlier today were quite brutal. Not the presenation itself, though they did make me present as the last speaker, but my tiredness factor. Since I didn't fall asleep until 3:30am the night before, I ended up with only 1.5 hours of sleep. I woke up for sahoor around 5am and thought I'd go back to bed after Fajr, but I had to take care of business again. By the time I was done, I had to get ready for the meeting. So by the second presentation this morning, I had engaged myself in a long, tough battle of keeping my eyes open. It wasn't pretty. Thankfully during lunch, though, I got in a power nap for about 40 minutes, so that later energized me.

After the meeting, I came back to my room and emailed some people (work and personal), then finally went out for further adventures. This time I hit up the Grand Palais; a former palace now museum that boasts an eye-capturing raised window roof. It looked like it could be giant greenhouse or a stadium of sorts. Across the street from it you had another nice palace. Further down, you had the musuem (Les Invalides) that holds the tomb and body of Napoleon. No, not Napoleon Dynamite, though some of you may actually like that sort of thing. Unfortunately, Les Invalides was closed by the time I got there. In between Les Invalides and Grand Palais you have Paris' famous river -- the Siene and its classic-looking bridges that connect both sides. I took plenty of pics and video highlights, so hopefully I'll have something up soon. Oh, I did also see the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame from a distance. Both looked really cool.

I must say, the more I see of Paris, the more I fall in love with the city. It's quite hypnotic and very romantic. I know I've said that before, but that really is the best way to describe it. No wonder Zareen told me to tell girls that I'm in Paris. "Every girl likes Paris." And why wouldn't they? If I'm acting this gay about it, imagine a chick. (Haha...so un-sexist of me to say that, huh?)

After all that, I went back to the Grand Mosque to try and catch iftari there. I had just missed the jammat by the time I got there and all the brothers were rushing out. I was wondering what was going on until I realized that they were all lining up for iftari. Gratis (=free) food. Can't beat it. After praying maghrib and taking some pics of the courtyard, I stood at the end of the line. The way they work the food serving was like the military! You had brothers that monitored who came into the kitchen area, but it was because they had set-up all the plates. Each table had it's plate for the individual brother, accompanied with an orange and, go figure, bread. In the middle, you had a few bowls of the same dish -- salaan with shorba and chick peas. But it had a twist to it. There were also spaghetti noodles in there. Never saw that before. The food was fine, but felt good because we were all breaking our fast together and eating from the same dish, so inshaAllah we had the mad baraqa points coming our way.

I did meet someone there, too. A very, very awesome brother named Younes (i.e. Younus). Younes is young and Algerian; he's in France to complete his PhD in archaeology, which I totally give him props for. His English was pretty good and he was mashaAllah the nicest guy. We talked about "typical" things (i.e. life in the USA, what we do, etc.), but we also talked about how Islam is a religion of compassion and brotherhood. Younes was no exception to this and was in fact an excellent exemplar for these Islamic principles. He made sure that I was the first for everything between us. First one to enter the kitchen area. First one to get the food. When I tried reciprocating the brotherhood by offering him from a plate of sweets, he purposely took the smallest one. And before someone says it, it wasn't because he saw me and was like, "Dang, I better let this guy eat before me otherwise he'll eat me alive." Haha. I saw it coming, Ali & Umar!!

Before leaving, he gave me his email address as well as phone number and told me that whenever I come back to Paris to reach him and that he'd be more than happy to help me out with anything. SubhanAllah. Such brotherhood; it was like we were actual blood brothers or cousins. The feeling is quite special, I have to say. I know that sounds stupid, but that's the best way I can put it. Alhamdullilah for this deen.

Oh, before I sign off here, the one thing that really saddened me to see were a handful of sisters outside of the masjid (some quite young) who were asking for money. That hurt to see that. May Allah make things easy for them. Allah huma salay Allah Muhammad. Ameen!

Okay, room service is at the door...

Laterz!