By Sara Elghobashy
January 12, 2010
When the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN) brought a special edition of their Community Cafe to New York City last year, the event was nothing less than amazing. Big crowd, great entertainment and lots of energy set the tone for the night as IMAN created an atmosphere that fused together art and culture to inspire attendees to take actions that launch positive changes in their community and themselves.
The show, which took place last year at the The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, brought performances by DJ K-Salaam, Brother Ali, Pop Master Fabel, Three Generationz, New York Gnawa Ensemble, Revise CMW, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, and The ReMINDers to a diverse crowd of over 500 activists, students, scholars and professionals. It began with a short speech by Malaak Shabaaz, Malcom X’s youngest daughter, and ended with the crowd wanting more.
Well, ask and you shall receive because this year, the Community Cafe is back and even bigger and better than before. The show will take place on January 23rd at the famous Apollo theater in Harlem and will feature performances by Amir Sulaiman & Liza Garza, The ReMINDers, Progress Theater, and Gritz & Jelly Butter, with a special performance by Mos Def. Co-hosted by comedian Azhar Usman and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, the event will also include an appearance by Aasif Mandvi from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
An even bigger crowd is expected this time around and thankfully, the Apollo has the seating for it. Last year, close to 200 people were turned away at the door due to limited space, but to ensure the same doesn’t happen this time around, tickets are being sold online (and at only $20!). The show is bound to be as amazing, if not more amazing, than the last and the elan team will be there to document it all. Make sure to check back the week of January 25th to find out what went down.
To purchase tickets for IMAN at the Apollo, please visit Ticketmaster.
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