friends of nefisa
-last update jan 14th 2006-

Ana Dueñas, (San Diego USA / Tijuana, Mehico)
I believe the very last thing i said to her was something like this "once you've known somebody, you'll always know them." It probably sounded a whole lot more profound when I said it then, but I still take comfort in that meaning.

Ben Kelley aka Mikrosopht (Kansas City, USA)   a link
my friend ben gets involved in many progressive things to do with electronic music, is always thinking of new projects and ideas, and has a sharp sense of humour. we were planning to release a 12" vinyl together sometime in 2004, but it's been put on hold for the time being. in the meantime he still has a very sharp sense of humour and i like him. he also interviewed me once.

Caitlin Larsen (Taipei, Taiwan)
caitlin is a cool lady originally from sweden who keeps travelling and gives you the impression that she has a million stories to tell. she also has a lot of things going on creatively, from her art to poetry and even putting together magazines and books. at the moment there's also a possibility of her and i doing something together.

Dove Rock (Chicago, USA)   a link
Doveski is a cool chick from Chi-town who is making some pretty dark and moody music right now, she got in touch with me after checking one of the interviews for my second album, and is definitely someone I'd like to work with sometime in the future, keep half an eye on the Dove's movements, Yoshi can spot the good stuff and he thinks this rock will keep on moving.

Evolume (Seattle, USA)   a link
my electro-friend from the upper-west coast of the usa is a cool guy who makes even cooler music. when he's feelin' it, u can't stop him, his sound is like a squelchy stomach that is somehow clean but full of scissors. he also goes by the crazy pseudynom of 'kenji beatbox' and sometimes the even more crazy ... 'steve'!

Ewan aka 'HP' (Brighton, UK) a link
this man is involved in, and doing a lot for the hip-hop scene in brighton, and through his work with brightonhiphop.com he's managed to get me on guest lists for roots manuva, rodney p, even mike ladd in recent times. he's also more than willing to help out with the emerging artists like myself so, all in all, i got nothing but good words for this dude.

Gareth Graimes (Brighton, UK)
one of my best and oldest friends from brighton, gaz does design work on computers for a living, and is a damn hard worker too. in his spare time we often engage in meaningful conversations about nefisa (and non-nefisa) related subjects. he also likes art. oh yeah, and he also has a very nice car.

Glenn Whorrall (Isle of Man, UK)   a link
Glenn's a good guy who is really talented at the ol' film-making thang. He has a great eye for a shot, so stylistically his stuff is sharp, but more importantly he has a definite idea about the messages he wants to convey, and his own passions frequently get in the way (as they should) of his films and ideas, turning them into a huge pile of stylistic personality. I know all this because we worked together at trying to make a video for one of the songs on my album. Watch the space and check out his link!

Hiba Shahzada (Amman, Jordan)
i always call her 'hibzy wibzy', but most recently it was 'the butterfly in a large green field'. hibz is an aspiring architect, incredibly gifted in drawing portraits too (i should know, she drew me once) and all around, an amazing example of a young person. although only a few years younger than me, i've always thought of her as my little sister, and i've always had plans for her to help me design my house when i'm older (and have money). God help hibz, the youngest butterfly.

Homaira Hanif (Kabul, Afghanistan / Virginia, USA)
my cousin from virgina is doing some important humanitarian work right now in our homeland of afghanistan, and also takes time out from her schedule to get involved in photography, some of which you may see on nefisa from time to time. i dont see her as much as i'd like, but hopefully all that will change when we're both back in america and we can sit down, talk and joke again whilst our mothers and fathers talk about serious stuff.

Imran Saithnan (London, UK) a link
man in charge of muslimyouth.net, imran has, through another 'friend of nefisa' (marium, see below!) contacted me about a project of young muslim musicians and mc's getting together and recording a CD, it's pretty big time in terms of the distribution and numbers behind it, so I'm looking forward to it. i'm still actually in the process of recording for it at the moment in a london studio. imran's a good man with a good plan.

John Curran (Brighton, UK)
aspiring musician from my area who is currently learning the trade of music-making 'by the book' as it were in music college under my man Mike Pailthorpe who runs A3 music. john is a cool guy who i've met at various club-nights and also a dedicated (and vocal) fan of my music.

Joost (Dordrecht, Holland)   a link
owner and maintainer of solesides.com, Joost is a great guy, and dedicated follower of [DJ] Shadow and his associates. Shadow was one of my earliest teachers in music, so anyone who shares a deep dedication to him and what he stands for was always bound to be someone I liked. I also like Joost because he was one of the first guys to give me some serious link-ups from his site when I had just released online my remix of DJ Shadow's 'Blood on the motorway' and when nefisa was still a young puppy.

Kabage Karanga (London, UK)
kabage is a dear brother who i met many years ago through university and have still remained in touch with, a full-time working architect with a very organised lifestyle, he's an inspiration as well as a friend. i'm currently attending a think tank which was his idea, focused on helping raise issues and taking some action regarding the slums in kenya. God help him, 'cos God knows he's got a great heart.

Lacroix Scott (San Diego, USA)
'Lulu lacroix' (pronounced lekwah!) is an incredibly cool and kind lady who designs clothing. yes she does, and she even designed a t-shirt for me once! yes she did and it was amazing. actually, it is amazing. lacroix has a great taste in music, makes great conversation, and took me to the beach once which was really nice because even though i catch my sunset in brighton at least three or four times a week, there's absolutely nothing like seeing the sun setting on the pacific ocean. nothing in the world.

Lawrence 'Ytzhak' Braithewaite (B.C. Canada)   a link
renowned author with numerous books under his name, my man definitely has his own style; a unique voice that speaks in a unique way as well. as well as being my brother for life, Lawrence (aka Lord Patch) is responsible for a lot of the links you see on nefisa because he has his ear to the streets in every sense of the word when it comes to sending me articles etc. he also takes time when not getting articles and books published, to record some of his stream of consciousness poetry in spoken word form, indeed this one right here is a collaboration with nefisa's very own Hurricane Angel!.

Marium (London, UK)
I also like Marium. Marium likes to write, and i like reading whenever she shares. she also digs my website as a source of inspiration, and i get the feeling that iknow her very well even though i actually don't. she's also my sister and so i like the idea of looking out for her, even though she may well be older than i am. isn't the internet fun?

Michele Obi (London, UK)   a link
o wner of myfashionlife, a popular fashion website, michele is a very sweet person. it's amazing how life works, because in the traditional sense of the word, i have no interest in fashion. even if i am a fine dresser, (which i am!) i dont pay any attention to the 'world of fashion' but thats what's so great. i mean, you can find yourself looking in at someone from a completely different world than you and still realise, ''hey that's a sweet person!'' michele was kind enough to publish something i wrote once, and also link to a few more of the stories on nefisa. we also both love the song 'sometimes it snows in april' by prince.

MichL Bridge (Mainz, Germany)   a link
a very close friend of nefisa, MichL (also known as Mike Sun) is a gifted musician who doesn't stop making fresh sounds that awaken your mind. he was on nefisa for quite some time and in truth, he always will be a part of the nefi-family because of his positive attitude and dedication to creativity. any brief e-search will uncover a tonne of material by him because he quite simply does not stop expressing himself [musically], and in that respect i feel like we'll always have a great deal in common. he's also done a film score. he also loves the sun like me.

Nikesh Shukla (London, UK)   a link
'Kesh is one of the few-dudes who's comments on my debut LP i really had to pay attention to, quite simply because he's a well-established writer for UKHH.com with a lot of experience and (as I found out when we met) a good taste in all music. (anyone who recognises miles davis' 'in a silent way' after just a few seconds of me playing it has got to know his stuff.) as the link above will tell you, he's also a musician himself. also...watch this space.

Niklas Karlsson (Brighton, UK / Gothenburg, Sweden)
Nik is one of those guys at my university who is always up to something, screening 'activist films', going to demo's about various social injustices, and generally being an interesting person. I've also had the pleasure to work with him in the same group for the last two years (coincidence perhaps, or our similar tastes) on films for our media studies degree at sussex university, so i'm by now, more than familiar with his laid-back approach. nice guy nik, nice guy!

Owen Hulatt (Glamorgan, UK)
a gifted writer and all around pleasant human being whose support I count on. when i first read something of his, it sucked me in for quite a long time and i was shocked at the accuracy and emotional punch in his work. it was brilliant. i look forward to the day when he sends me more stuff. owen also really understood and dug my album, so naturally i liked him even more after hearing his comments.

Rahma Ali (Durrington, UK)   a link
a flower-friend and sister, Rahma is a singer/rapper/producer from just outside Brighton, you'll hear more of her angelic voice on my upcoming LP (due March '05). she became a great friend over this year since our collaboration, and i know there'll be more good times to come musically and friend-ically. we may also go to morocco together one day; in the mean-time just keep your eyes peeled for her nice guest appearance on my wonderful album as well as her exciting LP which is currently in the works too.

Scuba Suit (New Jersey, USA)   a link
wicked producer from USA, Scubes is a buddy who i met through rob sonics website, and one of these days I will spit lyrics on one of his grimey beats- that much i promise you. scubes is also... let me think about this... well im not thinking super clearly, but he may well be one of the funniest americans i know. he has a good sense of humour. he also had my debut album in heavy rotation in his car all over the streets of new jersey for quite a while after its release.

Sharkey (D.C, USA)   a link
a friend and fellow producer, Sharkey has released an album on Babygrande records and is one of the few signed guys that i know, we met each other at a brand nubian show in baltimore, maryland in summer 2004 and we try to keep in touch when he's not off touring (as he is frequently).

Skiz Fernando (Baltimore, USA)   a link
owner of the hugely influential Wordsound records, Skiz is an unseen force in hip-hop, doing something with his label and with his own music that few are able (and shouldn't try to) categorise. I've had the pleasure of chilling with him twice and each time I do he's always cooking up something interesting.

Soneni Nkomo (Brighton/London, UK)   a link
fellow university student and good friend, Soneni is a singer and poet from london. And again, we will do something together one of these days- that much i promise! neni, or s'noo-noo as i call her, was also the presenter for the first ever live show i did at the hothouse club in the university of sussex (feb' 04 i believe)

Soraia Ghani (Virginia/D.C., USA)
Soraia is a friend of my mothers who briefly came to visit my brother and I at our house in Brighton during a trip around Europe. We got on great and found that we had a lot of things in common, as well as a lot of things that lay in our respective fields of interest which we communicated to each other. In this case, the last few years have seen me get less and less interested in politics, only for someone like Soraia to come along who has a vision of politics which is more wide, and allows someone like me to maneuvre my brain muscles in that field and ultimately say "hey, actually that kind of politics does interest me!" So in this respect (and that's only one!) Soraia's been an enlightening person to meet and a great big-sister type all at the same time. I also burned her a copy of Iron & Wine's 'Our Endless Numbered Days' before she left.

2root2 (Glasgow, Scotland)   a link
a great guy and an even better producer from scotland, Root produced one track on my debut LP 'From a western box' but it didn't make the final cut in the end (watch out for it on a future b-sides release because it IS a nice one) and watch out for Root because he really is quality.

2ylite Tha Titan (Ontario, Canada)   a link
my bro from canada is a fellow MC/producer. 2ylite (pronounced 'TWILITE!') is making steady moves up and up- each new track I hear sees this guy getting better and better. keep an eye out... keep your ears out too, he beatboxes like nobodies business.

Xenia Octavia (Steyning, UK)
A cool chick from just outside of Brighton, Xenia is a fan of nefisa but also well into studios and has asked me a few questions in the past about what it was like being, as she put it, "a studio owner" which I suppose i am, but when it was put in that way it made me feel rather important. she really digs nefisa in terms of what it does, and is well into her art and music. she's also related to the artist edward burra somehow, and she compared something i did to something he did once, which was nice.

Yusuf Karzai (Maryland, USA)
my cousin, bro and friend. Along with fellow nefi' Diamondscepter (my other cousin) the three of us form 'The Three Kusketeers' (yes that's a private joke that no one else is going to get). Yusuf is an mc who's taking giant steps right now in terms of his flow and lyrics- keep an eye out for some of his poetic tracks with 'scepter or even myself in the near future. yusuf is also a big fan of nefisa, one of those guys who actually reads my reviews and makes a few purchases based on my words! What more can u ask for from a cousin?

Zeina Shahzada Majali (Amman, Jordan)   a link
a friend and sister, Zeina is a mother of one (soon to be two, God-willing). Like so many others with a busy lifestyle, Zeina tries to find time to express herself in writing, and aspires to pursue those literary, creative and also spiritual ambitions in life. zinzin is also just a little bit crazy ;) which definitely helps!

Zoe KS (London, UK)
another rising flower out of londons grey streets, Zo is a cool chick from the hip-hop school who always seems to be open and ready to be inspired at any moment. The most amazing thing about people like that is that [often] without even knowing it- they can also be the most inspirational people.

created 05th february 2005
updated 01st april 2005
updated 03rd september 2005
updated 14th january 2006