The Arab American News
RAMADAN 2011
14
C
onsidered by many to be the first
American Muslim country music
singer, KareemSalama is an Egypt-
ian American musician (born in Ponca
City, Oklahoma in 1978). His music is a
hybrid of country, pop and rock music.
He has released three albums, Generous
Peace (2006), This Life of Mine (2007),
and a third City of Lights (2011), the la er
a er signing for LightRain Records.
Salama's parents immigrated to the
United States in the late 1960s to a end
graduate school. Kareem Salama, which
literally translates to generous peace,
which he also used as tle of his first
album. He holds a degree in chemical en-
gineering from the University of Okla-
homa and a graduate degree in law from
the University of Iowa.
Salama has performed in front of au-
diences as far away as Rome and Lon-
don. He also took part in a State
Department European concert tour, per-
forming in Paris. He has been featured in
major media outlets like The New York
Times, The Chris an Science Monitor,
Readers' Digest, Fox News, SkyNews and
France 24. Salama was also invited to
dinner at theWhiteHousewhere hemet
President Barack Obama, who said to
Salama "You can sing!". InOctober 2008,
he also performed during the Global
Peace and Unity (GPU) event.
A er the success of the first two self-
released albums, Generous Peace and
This Life of Mine, Salama is nowworking
on his first mainstream worldwide re-
lease through LightRain Records, to
which he is signed. Kareem con nues to
work with friend and producer Aristotle
Mihalopoulos as well as producers Rich
Whi ng andDanWorkman (whose cred-
its include ar sts such as Beyonce and
Clay Walker).
"Generous Peace EP" is his debut sin-
gle, with a fully remastered version of the
original recording from the album. The
main track in English is seconded by a
bilingual English / Arabic rendi on with
addi onal refrains in Arabic.
Salama also embarked on a Middle
East tour in summer 2010 visi ng Egypt,
Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and
Bahrain. Upon his return, he released
two music videos, the promo onal
"Makes Me Crazy" and the official re-
lease "Be Free Now" featuring Kelley Pe-
ters.
Salama never planned on making a
music album, but in his household the
rule was “if the opportunity is available
and your heart inclines towards some-
thing, then don’t be afraid to give it a try.”
This philosophy led Salama to begin
song-wri ng as a way to memorize clas-
sicalWestern poems like JohnDonne’s “A
Valedic on Forbidding Mourning.”
With his parents' encouragement and
financial assistance, both American-
trained engineers, Salama began record-
ing his first album with Mihalopoulos
while in law school . Salama says of his
friend: "Ini ally, Aristotle and I met for
the sole purpose ofmakingmusic but his
friendship has becomemore valuable to
me than any material success I may find
in the music world. The bond I made
with Aristotle and his family confirmed
that good comes from listening to the
good inspira on in my heart; even it is
not the good you may have set out to
reach."
Salamawas born and raised in a small
town at the edge of Green Country in
Oklahoma. He has memorized classical
Western poetry and classical Arabic po-
etry. He enjoys boxing and riding horses.
But perhaps most interes ngly this son
of Egyp an immigrants is a singer/song-
writer with a country and pop flare.
Salama says that his music is inspired
by a variety of things including his own
experiences, experiences of friends and
family, and things that he reads. As a re-
sult of growing up in Oklahoma Salama
was around countrymusic fromthe me
hewas very young and is a racted to the
stories and the reverent nature of coun-
try music.
Salama highlights universal themes
about love, home and family values. His
songs are spiritual, without being overtly
religious. One phrase, inspired by the
wri ngs of an eighth-century Islamic
scholar, Imam Muhammed Al-Shafi’ee,
endorses the idea of tolerance and
avoiding violence in his debut single
"Generous Peace": “Gentleman, I’m like
incense, the more you burn me, the
more I'm fragrant.”
"GENEROUS PEACE"
This fool throws wet stones at me, insists on a empts to break my nerve
But I hate to respond to the anger and feed the fuel in those ugly words
They ask me why I say nothing at all, like I don't have any self-respect
I say "Gentleman, I'm like incense. The more you burn me, the more I'm fragrant"
Chorus: And I don't feel the need to act violently, and I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me, but I lace the lines of these mes
With generous peace
There's a thin line between virtue and fear, and it's funny how they appear
Both demanding restraint and control and it's enough that I know it's clear
That I'm not scared of you; I'm scared of me, and I live by controlling my fool
'Cause you're a fool enough for the both of us, but I s ll try to find the good in you
Chorus
I know it's hard to listen to the words you just can't stand
It's gonna more than a fist to enlighten an ignorant man
And don't you see how we fear the pa ent eyes of a lion?
And don't you how we fear those lions in their silence?
Country &Western
(and Muslim, too!)
Kareem Salama highlights universal themes about
love, home and family values. His songs are spiritual,
without being overtly religious.
“Gentleman, I’m like incense, the more you burn me,
the more I'm fragrant.”
