"It’s so exciting to finally see them in person. I love how all their songs are about positive things," exclaimed 12-year-old Abbir Malik, who later added, "I can’t wait to hear them sing ‘Look into my eyes.’ It’s been in my head all day!"
Outlandish members perform at the Voices for Change concert.
The Muslim American Society-Youth’s "Voices for Change" tour visited five cities across the United States including Tampa, Chicago, Detroit, and New York, making its final stop in Anaheim amidst rumors of cancellation and rescheduling.
"The idea behind Voices for Change was to enable young people to express their talents in a manner that will convey a positive message," said Tanya Reza, MAS chapter development officer. "We see that music has become the new medium of expression for this generation, thus we must reach out to youth everywhere to encourage its use."
Attendees traveled from throughout southern California to take part in Outlandish’s first U.S tour. MAS volunteer Omar Sallhei of the Inland Empire encouraged Muslims to take part in more causes such as these.
"We should support our Muslim musical groups," said Sallhei. "The work they do is for a good purpose, and we can all benefit from their message."
Winners of the MAS-Youth Talent Search opened up the concert to an eagerly excited crowd. The assembly cheered for Dallas-region winner Abdullah Dahduli, who performed "Time for Change" to the backdrop of a colorful stage designed by MAS Media Foundation.
He was followed by local southern California winners Project 26, a Muslim band from Corona compromised of band mates Mudassir Ahmed and brothers Ali and Omair Qazi.
"This was the largest crowd we’ve performed to yet and it’s a great opportunity," Ali Qazi said. "We’re all here to showcase a positive message through music and we hope that the impact lasts on the crowds."
Outlandish members speak to an InFocus reporter.
The band later performed a rock’n’roll/hip-hop fusion number with yet another talent winner, Manifest One.
The crowd took to its feet, immediately roaring with incandescent cheers and swarming out of the aisles to get a better glance as Outlandish stepped on stage to perform their well-known number "Guantanamo."
Zahra Khan, 22, first heard about the concert through the Muslim Public Affairs Council. "This sort of entertainment really speaks to things we as youth can relate to and the issues we face in our daily life," she said.
Outlandish member Isam Bachiri noted the importance of music in Islamic culture.
"I think music through the history of man has been to inspire," he said. "People expressing themselves. I think that’s the main goal of this tour, to encourage people to write some more or not be afraid of talking about your feelings, letting people in [and] letting the world know what’s going on inside you, what’s going on in your neighborhood."
"I think that’s something we need, maybe amongst the immigrant communities in the west," he said. "I think it’s something that would inspire a lot of people to hear that voice, because it’s so small. There will always be people talking about you, but you need to talk about yourself; it would be cool to get your voices out there."
Band member Lenny Martinez, originally from Honduras, concurred.
"Our music is about ourselves. We are inspired by the things we see, and feelings, and things that go through our heads," he said. "It’s about being yourself and expressing yourself as a human being and tell people and show people in whatever way -- music, books, work -- who you are and what kind of person you are. It’s all about expressing ourselves."
Waqas Qadri commented on the struggle to find a right name when the band was first forming.
"We went through a lot of phases with names. We always tried to stand out somehow," Qadri said. "When we started to mix those two worlds, the ethnical things with hip-hop, and we felt that nobody had done that before and we felt that it was unique, so Outlandish went really well with the name. We’re basically really normal guys, the name doesn’t fit us anymore. We blend in really well, so technically we should be ‘Inlandish.’"
"We’re currently working on a new album, which will insha’Allah be out next year, and hopefully we can come back and do a tour again," Qadri continued. "This is definitely only the first step for us; the next step is to get our music out here for people to be able to buy and not download, and definitely do a bigger tour, more cities, spread it out somehow."
The Denmark based band was formed in 1997 and consists of both Muslim and Catholic members from Moroccan, Pakistani and Latin American descent. Their music takes eclectic influences from their various ethnic backgrounds as seen by their use of Spanish, Urdu, and Arabic lyrics.
Outlandish aims to include themes about Islam and contemporary issues facing young Muslims in the west in their music, and their songs often define a unique nasheed-like urban genre. The content and lyrics are written to remind people of their potential and convey positive messages about life and self-fulfillment.
The trio has participated in concerts which also featured Seven8Six, Raihan, and Kareem Salama amongst fellow performers. In addition, Bachiri is featured on the single "Still Strong" on Native Deen’s recent album, "Not Afraid To Stand Alone."
"It’s been great to be out here for the first time touring," said Martinez. "It’s always nice to be on stage to perform. That’s always what touring is about, connecting with the audience, to the people. Thank you to everybody, to all the people that came to the shows."
The Youth division of MAS was founded in 2000. It embarks upon moving young people for God consciousness while channeling their energy and talents towards doing good and making change in a positive effort.
