Mona Haydar
منى حيدر
Musician
•
Syria
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Brooklyn,
United States
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✓ Verified
Syrian American rapper, poet, and chaplain whose viral anthem “Hijabi” turned a personal statement of faith into a pop culture moment.
Mona Haydar grew up in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Syrian immigrants, and came to music by way of poetry and community organizing rather than a traditional industry route. That background shows in her writing, which treats a verse the way a sermon treats a text, as something meant to move a room.
Her 2017 single “Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab)” arrived as a joyful, defiant response to the scrutiny Muslim women face over what they wear, and it spread far beyond the audience it was written for, landing her on late night television and in international headlines within weeks.
She has continued to fold activism, motherhood, and her ongoing work as a trained chaplain into her music, treating rap less as a career pivot and more as one more pulpit.
Languages
Arabic, English
Representation
Independent