Junior Mike Shapiro, computer information systems, has combined his love of Islam and hip-hop on MuslimHipHop.com, a Web site that has led the way for a new genre of music receiving national attention.  

The genesis for Shapiro’s site came to him after he attended a hip-hop event at a mosque during the holiday of Eid. “I thought, hip-hop and Islam? Isn’t that an oxymoron? But then I started listening, and I was totally blown away,” he says. “They weren’t talking about sex and drugs, they were rapping about Islamic topics everyone there could relate to. Right then, I knew I wanted to do something with this because it was such a positive message. All you see about Muslims in the media is terrorism, and I wanted to change that.”  

By providing an outlet for Muslim artists and an alternative hip-hop listening option, media including the Associated Press, Yahoo! News, and MSNBC have mentioned the site as a part of the growing genre. Launched less than a year ago, the site now averages 2,000 unique visitors per day who come to listen to the Internet radio, chat in discussion forums, and check up on upcoming events. Shapiro has also teamed up with two other sites – Muslim Artists Central (muslimac.com) and MuslimArtistNetwork.com – to further promote the emerging music of artists like Napoleon, MPAC, and Aman.  

The site does not update itself though, and like many CSUDH students, Shapiro’s life is one in which 24 hours does not seem to provide enough time for all that he does: He’s married, takes a full load of five classes, works 20 hours per week as an IT trouble-shooter, and still finds time to update the site 20 hours per week. That is time spent moderating the forums, working with advertisers, responding to inquiries, selecting songs to play on the radio component, working with artists, and writing stories about them. It may be a lot of work, but it is also incredible experience where he serves as DJ, Web administrator, designer, journalist, promoter, and customer service rep.  

Should MuslimHipHop.com not provide a full-time opportunity after graduation, he plans to use his degree to get a job in a Web security-field. But that does not mean he does not have big plans for the future of the site. He starts talking heatedly about the possibilities – installing Flash to make the radio component interactive, bringing merchandising into the mix, organizing live concerts with some of the featured artists, and crossing mediums into television and radio with two Muslim-based programs.  

“My initial goal was to make this a business. I became really cutthroat, but then I realized this was for the artists, and hopefully the money will come with time. It’s still a hobby for me right now. I do it because I love it,” he says.