Malik Al Nasir, born Mark Trevor Watson (1966,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England) is a British author and

performance poet Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe p ...

, born to a Welsh mother and a Guyanese father. Malik is the band leader of Malik & the O.G's. Spurred by discovering his striking resemblance to early black footballer Andrew Watson, he began to research his family ancestry, discovering both slaves and slave-owners.

Early life

Mark T. Watson was born in 1966, one of four siblings to a white Welsh mother and a black Guyanese father. Liverpool, a major port city, was poor and racism was rife; the

Toxteth riots The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community. They followed the Brixton riot earlier that year and we ...

shook the city in 1981.

The care system

His father worked as a merchant seaman and a security guard; his mother worked in a factory. When Mark was nine years old, his father became paralysed and, believing that his mother could not cope, the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

took Mark and one of his brothers into their care. (Reynold became "politicised and well-read".) There he faced neglect, racism and physical abuse, until he was discharged from the system at 18, functionally illiterate and without connections. Many years later, he successfully sued the local authority, and received a substantial payout and a public apology from the Lord Mayor of Liverpool. He spent ten years in litigation, durig which time he pursued educational qualifications in order to better research his own case. He was represented by

Allan Levy Allan Edward Levy was a barrister specialising in family law and an advocate of children's rights. He is most well known for his chairmanship of the Pindown Enquiry and, as a result of the public exposure the enquiry brought, he was much in dem ...

QC, a noted children's advocate who co-chaired the 1990 public inquiry into pin-down, a punitive technique used in

children's homes Residential child care communities or children's homes are a type of residential care, which refers to long-term care given to children who cannot stay in their birth family home. There are two different approaches towards residential care: The fami ...

Gil Scott-Heron

At 18, he was introduced by the photographer

Penny Potter A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

, who had a profound effect on his life. Scott-Heron was an African-American poet-musician, part of the

Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...

and best-known for the song "

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album '' Small Talk at 125th and Lenox'', on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. A re-reco ...

". (His father,

Gil Heron Gilbert Saint Elmo Heron (9 April 1922 – 27 November 2008) was a Jamaican professional footballer. He was the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic and was the father of poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron. Career Born Gilbert Her ...

, was, like Andrew Watson, a Scottish footballer from the Caribbean.) Scott-Heron supported the young man over many years, encouraging him to learn to read fluently and to write poetry, and developing his understanding of Black consciousness.

Recordings, publications, and media production

Eventually Watson compiled the writings of his late teens and twenties, both poems and explanatory prose, into a book entitled ''Ordinary Guy''. It was released in 2004 by Fore-Word Press, the publishing house he had founded. The book was written in tribute to Scott-Heron &

The Last Poets The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...

, and includes a foreword by

Jalal Mansur Nuriddin Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin (July 24, 1944 – June 4, 2018) was an American poet and musician. He was one of the founding members of The Last Poets, a group of poets and musicians that evolved in the 1960s out of the Harlem Writers Workshop in ...

. In 2006, Al-Nasir co-founded Dubai-based

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, a ...

MediaCPR and its

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

MCPR Music. Conceptually MediaCPR wanted to develop clean content in mainstream music, that could entertain listeners without being offensive or explicit. Malik and his team of music producers pioneered a new genre of music which they called "Drum Fusion". The idea was to unite traditional rhythms with contemporary

song arrangement A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

s and apply positive lyrical content to produce a new style of music, which could be applied to any genre. The drum fusion formula involves developing a full organic

sound composition In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

derived exclusively from the use of drum, percussion, the human voice and natural sounds such as wind, rain, running water etc. The first album released using this formula was ''Drumquestra'' (2009), by Jamaican master percussionist

Larry McDonald (percussionist) Larry McDonald is a Jamaican percussionist. He was born in Port Maria, Jamaica in 1937. McDonald played congas with Carlos Malcolm's band, Toots and the Maytals and the Count Ossie Band. He plays a wide variety of traditional percussion instrum ...

, who wanted to showcase his 50-year recording career. The concept was developed collaboratively between Al Nasir, as executive producer, Larry McDonald, and producer

Sidney Mills Sidney Mills (born 1959) is a British Jamaican musician, performing mostly within the reggae genre and best known as a member of the roots reggae band Steel Pulse. Mills was born in the United Kingdom and moved to Jamaica as a child. He was rais ...

from

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

. One of the tracks, ''Set the Children Free'', was recorded for the album by

Toots & the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

. A dance remix by Lenny B demonstrated that the "Drum Fusion" formula could cross genres and be relevant to the young, as well as the old traditionalists. Al-Nasir co-wrote two tracks on ''Drumquestra'': "Peace of Mind" (which he co-produced with

featuring Shaza) and and "Crime Or Music" (featuring veteran ska musician

Stranger Cole Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska ...

and reggae drummer

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called T ...

). Additional percussion on this track was provided by Sticky Thompson of

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

and

Bongo Herman Herman Davis (born 16 September 1944), better known as Bongo Herman, is a Jamaican hand-drummer, percussionist and singer who has had a successful career stretching back to the early 1960s. Biography Herman Davis was born on 16 September 1944, ...

. Al-Nasir featured in '' Word Up – From Ghetto to Mecca'' (2011), a documentary about

performance poetry Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe p ...

. It was produced by

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

's commissioning editor

Shirani Sabaratnam Shirani, or Sherani, may refer to: * Shirani (Pashtun tribe), a Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Shirani (Baloch tribe), a Baloch tribe of Iran * Sherani, a subsection of the Marri, a Baloch tribe of Pakistan * Sherani District, in Bal ...

and included Scott-Heron, The Last Poets and

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-w ...

. Fore-Word Press screened the film at the Phoenix Cinema, Leicester, as part of the 2011

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

events, sponsored by Leicester City Council. Al-Nasir wrote and produced two albums of his poetry and songs, ''Rhythms of the Diaspora'' Vol. 1 & 2, 2015, featuring Scott-Heron, The Last Poets,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

, Swiss Chris, Rod Youngs, Larry McDonald, and Ms Marie Labropolus. The albums were recorded at

Sarm Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isla ...

in Reading, Mercredi 9 Studios in Paris and

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

's Platinum Sound Recording Studios in New York. Mixed by

Serge Tsai Serge may refer to: * Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric * Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme * Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) * Serge (post), a hi ...

and mastered by

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

New York.

Ancestry research

Malik is currently researching the life of Andrew Watson (24 May 1856 – 8 March 1921) who was the first black footballer in history – and one of the architects of the game of soccer as it is known today – for inclusion in a book about the life of Watson, who came from Guyana in 1860 (being an unconfirmed but likely relative of Malik) and ended up captaining

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in the 1880s.Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history
Andrew Aloia,

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside ...

, 12 October 2021

Education

In 2010, Malik Al Nasir graduated with an MA in New Media Production from Liverpool Screen School, a faculty of

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

. For his thesis piece he created a web-based multimedia software program for genealogical

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations o ...

building, called Ancestory. The software allows for the building of interactive multimedia family trees, that can be shared over social networks and authored by the public. Ancestory was probably the first interactive multimedia family tree builder, with social network integration. Malik also holds a BA Honours in Geography & Sociology from

Liverpool Hope University Liverpool Hope University (abbreviated LHU) is a public university with campuses in Liverpool, England. ‌The university grew out of three teacher training colleges: Saint Katharine's College (originally Warrington Training College), Notre Dame ...

and a PgDip in Applied Social Research from

The University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. He developed a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

with sociologist

Ronaldo Munck Ronaldo Munck is an Argentine sociologist who has worked on the political sociology and globalisation of Latin America and Ireland. Biography Ronaldo Munck was born and educated in Argentina. He completed his PhD in political sociology at the ...

Malik is a social commentator on issues relating to refugees, social exclusion, asylum seekers, and social unrest in Liverpool and racism. Al-Nasir wrote ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' obituary for

, entitled "The grandfather of rap".

Event producer and performer

Al-Nasir formed a band named Malik & the O.G's, standing for "Ordinary Guys". The band included Malik Al Nasir,

Orphy Robinson Orphy Robinson MBE (born 13 October 1960) is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre. Career Robinso ...

, Rod Youngs,

Mohammed Nazam Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...

, Paislie Reid, Shaza

Tiago Coimbra Tiago de Freitas Guimarães Coimbra (born January 17, 2004), also known as Canadá, is a Association football, soccer player who plays for HFX Wanderers FC in the Canadian Premier League. Born in Brazil, he represents Canada at youth internation ...

and engineer Tom Parker. In 2013, Al-Nasir and his publishing house were asked to produce a live show of the world's first rap album '' Hustlers Convention''. The event, at

the Jazz Cafe The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, ...

in Camden, North London, was filmed for the making of a documentary of the same name. The film was directed by Mike Todd of Riverhorse TV and executive produced by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped crea ...

. The live event was sponsored by

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fra ...

, who re-issuesd the album to commemorate both 40 years of "The Hustlers Convention" and 40 years of the company. Malik was the associate producer of the film, as well as an interviewee, presenting a segment to camera. Malik & the O.G's (

Cleveland Watkiss Cleveland Watkiss, (born 21 October 1959), is a British vocalist, actor, and composer. Biography Cleveland Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents, and was one of nine children. He is the older brother of pianist Trevo ...

, Orphy Robinson, Rod Youngs &

Hawi Gondwe Hawi may refer to: * Al-Hawi, Hadhramaut, a village in eastern Yemen * Hawi, Hawaii * ''Hawi'' (film), a 2010 film People with the surname * George Hawi, Lebanese politician * Khalil Hawi, Lebanese poet * William Hawi William Amine Hawi (a ...

) supported Jalal and

The Jazz Warriors The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black people, black culture. ...

International Collective at the event. The death of his mentor, Gil Scott-Heron, led Al Nasir to perform acts of tribute, such as at

Liverpool International Music Festival Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF), formerly known as the Liverpool Mathew Street Music Festival, is an event held annually at Sefton Park in Liverpool. It takes place every summer and was Europe's largest free music event, although ...

2013. Two years later, the Festival commissioned him to produce a range of events, including its opening night. On UNESCO

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is an international day celebrated August 23 of each year, the day designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade. That date was chosen by the ...

he produced "Poets Against Apartheid" at the

International Slavery Museum The International Slavery Museum is a museum located in Liverpool, England that focuses on the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. The museum which forms part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, consists of three main gallerie ...

, featuring readings from

Tayo Aluko Tayo or TAYO may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tayo The Little Bus, a South Korean animated television series Businesses and organizations * Tayo (political party), a political party based in Mogadishu, Somalia * TAYO Awards, an aw ...

Jean Binta Breeze Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

MBE, and the Incognito Gospel Choir. A few days later at

St George's Hall, Liverpool St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...

, he produced, in partnership with nightclub entrepreneur and promoter Richard McGinnis, "The Revolution Will Be Live – A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron". The MC was

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 203,000 ...

presenter Ngunan Adamu, and the show featured Al-Nasir's own band, Malik & the O.G's, as well as

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't T ...

, The Christians,

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronatio ...

, DJ 2Kind, Sophia Ben-Yousef, and

. Al Nasir was invited to tour Canada with Last Poets founder member

for

(February 2016). Events a
Harbourfront
in Toronto reached the national press The pair screened two films,''Hustlers Convention'' and ''Word-Up'', and participated in workshops, seminars, school visits and performances in Toronto Ottawa and Mississauga. Al Nasir was invited back in March 2016 further promoting his film Word-Up and performing with his band Malik & the O.G's featuring Ottawa R & B artists Rita Carter. 'The Revolution Will Be Live' agai

the UK in Nov 2017 with Scott-Heron's former musical director Kim Jordan joining Malik & the O.G's and featured Canadian singer Rita Carter.

Radio appearances

* "Outlook"

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

– "After the death of legendary musician Gil Scott-Heron, we find out how he transformed the life of a young British man." * "Radio

WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...

New York" – 'Radio interview Malik Al Nasir, Bilal Sunni Ali and Tommy Abney with Umar Ben Hassan of The Last Poets' * "Saturday Live

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

London" – 'Radio interview – Malik Al Nasir,

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

and Brian Ball with

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...

- live from Centre Court at Wimbledon' * "Roger Phillips Show"

Malik talks about his life with Gil Scott-Heron & The Last Poets * "Benji B",

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

"Gone too soon" with

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

and

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of the Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with mult ...

Filmography

* "Word Up – From Ghetto To Mecca" featuring Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Malik Al Nasir and

. * "Africa" – Malik & the O.G's featuring Rod Youngs, and

. – Music Video, produced by HQ Creative and directed by

Mitchel Stuart Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

for MCPR Music. * "

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

– Toxteth Riots" Malik Al Nasir's social commentary on the

Toxteth Riots The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community. They followed the Brixton riot earlier that year and we ...

of 1981 and 2011. * "Hustlers Convention" – Featuring

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

, Alan Douglas,

Ron Saint Germain Ron Saint Germain (alternate spellings Ron St. Germain, Ron Saint-Germaine and similar) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and Mix engineer, mixer born in post-war Frankfurt, Germany, into a career United States Air Force, Air Force ...

, Malik Al Nasir,

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

, Last Poets by Producer and Director

Mike Todd Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of '' Around the World in 80 Days'', which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Act ...

of Riverhorse TV in Manchester UK. 2014 * "Who Is Gil Scott-Heron?" – Featuring Kimberley Jordan, Glen Turner,

Richard Russell (XL Recordings) Richard Russell (born March 18, 1971) is an English record producer and the owner of British record label XL Recordings. Career XL Recordings was founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes to release dance music. Richard Russell joined XL as ...

Jamie Byng James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher. Early life Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England.

, Malik Al Nasir. Producer and Director

Iain Forsyth Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are British artists and filmmakers. Life and work Forsyth and Pollard met and began working collaboratively while studying Fine Art and Art Theory at Goldsmiths College, graduating together in 1995. They initially ...

and Jane Pollard for

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first ...

UK. 2015

Discography

* ''Drumquestra'' by

2009 for MCPR Music. Tracks "Crime or Music"was written by Malik Al Nasir for

with

Squiddly Cole Squiddly Diddly is an anthropomorphic animated octopus created by Hanna-Barbera, who was featured in his own cartoon segment on ''The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'' beginning in 1965. Fictional character biography The round-headed, sailor-hatted ...

, performed by Ska veteran

and

. Also "Peace of Mind" was written by Malik Al Nasir & Bobby Rodell Davis. Malik Al Nasir was also Executive Producer for the whole album, Ft.

Dollarman Dollarman is a Caribbean singer, songwriter, producer and musician born in Grenada. Since moving to Brooklyn, New York, he continues to present hits with a Caribbean influence and reggae. Career In the early 1990s, he recorded his first two tr ...

Mutabaruka Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Steppin' Razor''. His ...

Bob Andy Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters. Early life Anderson was bor ...

Marivaldo Dos Santos and JD Smooth. * ''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol 1.'' by Malik & the O.G's – Written and produced by Malik Al Nasir. Ft. Gil Scott-Heron,

, Ms Marie Labropoulos. * ''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol 2.'' by Malik & the O.G's – Written and produced by Malik Al Nasir. Co produced by Swiss Chris, Ft.

, The Last Poets. * ''Urban Griot'' by Raw UnLtd. Ft. Hard City Klick HCK – Unreleased. Tracks such as Multi-Media were co-written by Malik Al Nasir. Malik was also the executive producer of the album. The producer was Lloyd Masset. The album was recorded at

Hookend Recording Studios Hook End Recording Studios was a recording studio located in Hook End Manor, a 16th-century Elizabethan house near Checkendon, Oxfordshire, England. History The original studio, Space Studios, was built by Alvin Lee of the band Ten Years After ...

in Oxfordshire and mixed by

Andy Grassi Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

s Platinum Sound Recording Studios in NYC.

Collaboration albums

Discography

Other works

*''Letters to Gil''. A memoir. Foreword by

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

. William Collins. 2021.

References

External links

His Cambridge Digital Humanities page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasir, Malik 1966 births Living people British record producers British spoken word artists Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Liverpool Hope University Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Musicians from Liverpool Spoken word poets English male poets Black British musicians English people of Guyanese descent English people of Welsh descent

Early life

The care system

Gil Scott-Heron

Recordings, publications, and media production

Ancestry research

Education

Event producer and performer

Radio appearances

Filmography

Discography

Collaboration albums

Discography

Other works

References

Further reading

External links