Foad Manshadi (born June 3, 1987) or simply Foad, is an American entrepreneur, recording artist, musician, blogger, and social activist residing in Los Angeles. Foad uses his music as a forum for bringing light to

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

issues, including poverty,

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, and

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

. His music serves as a forum for his feelings and ideas and is inspired by

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. Foad has practiced vegetarianism since his youth.

Early life

Foad was born on June 3, 1987, in

Tonekabon Tonekabon () is a city in the Central District of Tonekabon County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Toneka was a large and fortress-like city with a fence and a hard and stron ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to a Baha'i family. Because of his family's faith, he was discriminated against and expelled from school in his town. At the age of 16, he fled Iran to Turkey and then the United States in response to governmental oppression. His experiences with religious oppression in Iran have inspired his passion towards promotion of truth, justice, and freedom. Now he resides in California, United States.

Music career

Foad began his journey with music by learning to play the

Setar A setar (, ) (lit: "Three String (music), Strings") is a stringed instrument, a type of lute used in Persian traditional music, played solo or accompanying voice. It is a member of the tanbur family of long-necked lutes with a range of more than ...

, despite the fact that learning an instrument was very difficult due to the prohibition of carrying musical instruments in small towns. Nevertheless, Foad persevered in learning. After migrating to the US, Foad began writing rap songs in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

about his experiences with oppression, religion, and politics. His first rap song, "Matrood" (Rejected) which is also known as "Mazhab" (Religion), was released in 2006; later he released his first hip-hop album entitled "Enghelab Fekri" (Intellectual Revolution) in May 2008. Since the release of Enghelab Fekri, Foad has continued to produce and release many singles and feature tracks. His music has gained popularity and exposure through many popular sites worldwide, includin
Mideastunes
and NPR. Also Foad was featured for the soundtrack of FX TV drama Sons of Anarchy.

Social Activities

Foad is an outspoken advocate for the freedom of prisoners of consciousness in Iran and champions both religious and political freedom as well as

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

. Foad is also against capital punishment and pro-women's rights; his song "Sangsar" (

Stoning Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. Stoning appears t ...

) deals with both issues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manshadi Foad 1987 births Living people Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian Bahá'ís Rappers from California Activists from California 21st-century American rappers