Pittsburgh story 'New Muslim Cool' to be featured on PBS new 'P.O.V.' season
PBS’ 22nd season of its acclaimed documentary series “P.O.V.” starts tonight with a Pittsburgh-set story called “New Muslim Cool.”
It’s about Hamza Perez, a Puerto Rican-American rapper and activist who escaped a life of drug dealing 12 years ago, and became a Muslim. He moved to a rough part of the North Side to rebuild his family, begin a new religious community and make music. After the FBI raided his mosque, the reality of post-9/11 America put all Perez’ projects in peril.
Music is a big part of “New Muslim Cool,” from its subject’s belief in hip-hop music’s power to change lives, to a unique original score by multi-instrumentalist Chris Strollo and Herman Pearl (also known as Soy Sos), a musician/producer well-known in Pittsburgh for his work with the band Soma Mestizo.
“New Muslim Cool,” by filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, debuts tonight (wed.) at 10 p.m. on WQED. Details: www.wqed.org.
From Tribune-Review
Leave a comment