Redefining the Spoken Word
I AM AFRICAN & I CAN is a women’s empowerment blog highlighting stories of Black women’s struggles and successes.
By Hadiatou Wann |12/29/2023
“African booty scratcher, big mouth!” She’s heard it all. But instead of going through life feeling defeated, Fatoumata Zahrah Amar used the words smothered on her as inspiration to become the daring and tell-it-like-it-is spoken word artist the world needs to hear from.
Born in Newark New Jersey, Zahrah lived with her mother and two older sisters until she was sent to live in Senegal (where French is the official language) at five years old. When she moved back to the United States after a few years, she faced a language barrier because she had to relearn English.
Soon, she began to see a difference. While being talkative in the classroom in Senegal was shunned, being expressive in the US classroom was welcomed. An expressive person by nature, once back in the States, she sprung out of her shell and tapped into her creativity. Reading greetings cards and crafting her own pieces became her favorite thing to do.
Then, in the 10th grade, she participated in a talent show. Although she entered at the last minute, she performed the poetry she had written and won third place. Thereafter, to hone her skills she listened to renowned poets, and studied how they recited and delivered their craft. People didn’t notice her improvements, but she was fully aware of the leaps she was making over time.
This year, Zahrah’s debut album With Every Piece of My Heart, a 13-track work of art about family and love made its way into the world with nine poems, and one interlude. The deluxe edition (17 tracks) will relaunch on January 22, 2024, and will include 12 poems that waddle from joyful to dark. Although each track is a stand-alone, all the tracks are somehow connected, and different people can relate to different poems in the album. Seeing how gracefully a poem she wrote a few years prior weaved back into this album has been thrilling for her.
While Zahrah leaned on her past experiences to craft With Every Piece of My Heart, she understood that many of her listeners either have already experienced a similar life event or are going through it now. She also recognized that so many people tend to put their trauma in a box and hide it. So, the message she says she hopes to convey to her listeners is, “It’s okay to heal from your past traumas, and it’s okay to move forward and acknowledge your past.”
Before, if you were to get ahold of Zahrah’s phone and skim through her playlist, you’d come across every genre of music you could think of. Music was such a big part of her life. So much so that during a family get-together last year, while music blasted in the background, her cousin asked, “When are ya’ll going to stop listening to music?” Sitting amongst them, Zahrah internalized that she’ll NEVER stop listening to music.
Though at that time the poet did not intend to stop listening to music, she wanted to better her relationship with God. She made dua (supplicated/prayed) and her prayer was answered in a way she did not foresee. One year ago, Zahrah had a dream that shook her to her core. When she woke up, she deleted all the songs she habitually listened to. She decided that she’s not only going to stop listening to music, but she is also not going to influence anyone to listen to music.
This spiritual awakening had a major impact on her debut album, as she chose to produce a spoken word album without musical instruments. In the making of her album, she was less concerned about sound effects and concentrated more on the quality and sincerity of the message. Though releasing a spoken word album that excludes musical instruments is rare, Zahrah plans to make it her signature, and invite other artists to try this method of artistic expression.
A huge fan of Zahrah’s work, her brother who passed away this year, always encouraged her to pursue her goals. “I write more now than I have in a long time, and it just flows. And all of it is due to that loss I get.” Zahrah expressed.
Zahrah’s focus is to produce projects that are bigger and better every time they’re released. She also aims to improve her writing to one day earn a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Asta Amar, Fatoumata’s older sister says, “My baby sister is a God-fearing woman who believes that she can do anything through Allah. Fatoumata does it all, she paints, designs, acts, writes, even tried modeling a couple of years back. She is indeed a force to be reckoned with.”
“Fatoumata Zahrah is the most kind-hearted, funny, and loving person I know. She wears her infectious smile with her everywhere she goes, as a matter of fact that’s the first thing you’ll notice about her. Without judging, or making you feel bad about yourself, she’ll support, and motivate you to be your absolute best. Fatoumata is my pride and joy, to know her is to literally love her,”Asta added.
Zahrah’s success story teaches us that passion and faith can coexist. We shouldn’t allow people’s comments/opinions to stop us from reaching our goals. And, sometimes our goals, vison, and/or religious journey may not be parallel to that of others. But if we cling onto our values, the right people will like and support us for what we stand for.
Inside the Life of an Artist
“Success is seeing that what people invested in me has paid off.”
“Everyone will have an opinion about how you worship. It’s all about your intention. ”
“Know your ‘why.’ What is your purpose? If the answer is to please God, everything else is noise.”
Using the bachelor’s she earned in Fashion Studies from Montclair State University, Zahrah hopes to soon launch a modest brand. Zahrah’s brother and sisters aren’t the only ones who have supported her throughout her journey of finding her passions. Her mother never told her to be a doctor. She always encouraged her to explore her interests if they didn’t violate her Islamic values. And her uncle helped her come up with the name of her modest brand.
“A strong woman is someone who knows their worth and what they want to do out of life. She knows her purpose and why Allah created her.”
With Every Piece of My Heart by Zahrah is now available for purchase on all platforms!
Connect with Zahrah:
Instagram: @itszahrahh
Tik Tok: @zahrahspeaks
Read other success stories here: www.iamafricanandican.info/blog
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