Hijab-Wearing Musicians: Music, Identity and Performance

A playlist of musicians who wear hijab can move from Yuna’s pop and R&B to Mona Haydar’s rap, then into the metal of Voice of Baceprot. The differences are part of the pleasure. Each artist brings a particular voice, set of influences and way of working; a shared item of clothing cannot tell you what the next track will sound like.

For someone who rarely sees a musician dressed like herself, that visibility may feel personal. For another listener, the first connection might be a bass line, a vocal melody or a song discovered through a friend. There is room for both responses. Getting to know the work gives that first moment of recognition somewhere to go.

Here are three starting points, followed by ways to listen more closely, think about representation and make space for your own musical interests. The examples concern individual artists and their published work. They do not set a religious position for listeners or performers.

Yuna: hearing the songwriter alongside the public image

Yuna is a Malaysian singer-songwriter whose career includes pop and R&B. In a 2016 interview with Condé Nast Traveler, she described refusing requests from labels to remove her hijab. She also spoke about being Malaysian and Muslim while working as a pop artist in America. That is her account of the choices she faced at that stage of her career.

It is a useful starting point for understanding artistic agency. A performer can care about how she dresses and about the music she wants to make. An interview becomes more revealing when it makes room for both: the decisions about public presentation, and the less visible decisions about a song.

Yuna’s official website points listeners towards releases including Masih Yuna, which it presents as music in her native language. Exploring different releases gives you a fuller introduction than a single photograph or interview excerpt. Follow a song that interests you into the rest of its release, then try another period of her work.

As you listen, notice how the vocal sits within the recording. Which phrases hold your attention? Where does the accompaniment leave space? Does a repeated section feel different when it returns? These questions do not require technical vocabulary. “The voice becomes more exposed here” can be a more useful observation than reaching immediately for a grand claim about what the artist represents.

A familiar public image can make it easy to think you already know an artist. Returning to the songs leaves room to be surprised by her choices.

Mona Haydar: when identity enters the subject of a song

Mona Haydar describes her work across rap, poetry, performance and music production on her own website. Her artist biography connects that work with her Syrian-American background and upbringing in Flint, Michigan. It identifies Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab) as her debut single and describes it as a celebration of women that challenges racism, colourism and tribalism. In a 2017 interview with Glamour, she discussed wearing hijab as a spiritual practice she had chosen.

Here, hijab is explicitly part of the work’s subject. A discussion can therefore ask how a musical performance addresses an audience, how the words and delivery work together, and what the accompanying video adds. The artist’s explanation offers context; your observations should still refer to something you can hear or see in the work.

It helps to distinguish a response to the song from an assumption about the person making it. You might find a passage stirring, confrontational or playful. Explain what creates that effect for you. The pace of the delivery, the placement of a pause or the return of a phrase provides firmer ground than guessing at the performer’s private feelings.

Her wider catalogue also matters. The same biography discusses the EP Barbarican and songs concerned with other aspects of personal and public life. An artist can address identity directly in one release and take a different route in another. Following that range allows her work to develop in your understanding.

If you introduce a friend to a song, include the artist’s name and title, then say what caught your attention. A small, specific recommendation gives the next listener something to discover for themselves.

Voice of Baceprot: an ensemble with distinct musical roles

Voice of Baceprot’s official biography describes an Indonesian metal trio that began with three hijab-wearing students in Singajaya, West Java. Marsya handles vocals and guitar, Widi plays bass, and Siti plays drums. Recognising those roles makes the introduction to the band immediately more musical.

Their official discography lists Retas as a 2023 album. Its track list includes two versions of God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music, one labelled as a live recording. That pairing offers a practical listening exercise: compare how the same piece is presented in the two recordings. Attend to the balance between the instruments, the sense of space and the way the performance moves between sections. Describe what you hear without assuming that every difference comes from the players; recording and mixing choices also shape the result.

Glastonbury’s announcement for Woodsies in 2024 named the band as its Friday morning opening act. A festival booking is a concrete point in a career: a particular programme, setting and audience. It is more informative than an unsupported claim that a group has transformed an entire industry.

For a listener learning an instrument, a trio can be especially interesting because the separate jobs are easier to follow. Listen once for the bass, then for the drums, then for the relationship between the guitar and voice. You may discover that the part you first overlooked is the one holding a passage together.

The headscarves are visible in the band’s public presentation. Giving equal attention to the musicianship makes a conversation about their work richer.

A way into the music, even when the genre is unfamiliar

You do not need to become an expert in a genre before enjoying it. Start with a complete track, at a comfortable listening level, and let your first response be ordinary: a melody stays with you, a rhythm feels unsettled, or the ending arrives sooner than expected. There is no obligation to like everything in a playlist.

On a second listen, follow one element. The voice is often the easiest starting point, but you might choose a repeating instrumental figure or a change in texture. Notice where it enters and leaves. When several sounds happen together, ask which one draws your attention and whether that changes during the song.

Then look at the credits supplied with the release. Singing, writing, producing, playing and mixing are different contributions. A solo artist’s name on the cover does not mean that one person performed every task. Equally, an unfamiliar collaborator in the credits may give you another route into music you enjoy. Follow the documented contribution rather than assigning every sound to the person in the publicity photograph.

Keep the recording’s form in mind. A studio track, a radio session and a phone recording from a concert give you different things to hear. A rough audience recording is a poor basis for confident judgements about the sound in the room. When comparing versions, identify which versions you mean.

Language deserves similar care. If you do not understand the words, you can still describe the sound and your response to it. For meaning, look for an artist-provided translation or a clearly credited translator. A short translated caption may leave out the surrounding passage. You can enjoy a recording while keeping some questions open.

Lyrics also acquire shape through delivery, timing and accompaniment. Reading them on a page is another experience. If the written side interests you, our guide to reading and writing poetry about hijab explores voice and literary expression in more detail.

What does an artist’s impact look like?

“Impact” becomes more useful when attached to a specific change or contribution. A recording gives people work to hear. A performance brings that work into a particular venue. A collaboration connects musicians. An artist’s account of an experience can add something to a public conversation. Each is worth discussing on its own terms.

For example, a festival announcement establishes that an act was programmed. It does not tell us how every audience member responded or whether other performers subsequently found it easier to get booked. Those larger questions need their own evidence. Keeping the claim modest does not diminish the achievement; it makes clear what happened.

Personal influence is different again. You may see a drummer in hijab and feel that learning drums is easier to imagine. That response is meaningful without turning it into a statistic about all young Muslim women. If you tell the story, describe your own connection and leave room for someone else to respond differently.

For venues, schools and music organisations, useful questions extend beyond the promotional photograph. Who receives rehearsal time? Who is paid for the work? Whose musical suggestions are heard? Does a performer get opportunities in her chosen genre after an event about representation has finished? These questions direct attention to participation that can continue over time.

Artists also need room for work that is unfinished, experimental or simply outside a particular listener’s taste. Constant praise for being “inspiring” can become limiting if it leaves no space for an ordinary discussion of craft. Thoughtful criticism can respect a musician while taking her work seriously.

Let people describe their own relationship with faith and music

A musician’s public appearance cannot answer every question about her religious life. If she has explained how faith informs a song or a career decision, read that explanation in context. Avoid filling gaps with assumptions about her family, beliefs or reasons for dressing as she does.

The examples in this article are invitations to explore particular work. They do not decide what musical participation should mean for you. If you are seeking religious guidance, bring the actual question to a qualified person you trust: the activity, setting and concerns involved. Celebrity practice is not a substitute for that conversation.

Within a group, preferences can be discussed practically. One performer may want to agree the repertoire before accepting an invitation. Another may need to know about the audience or how a recording will be used. Ask the individual and listen to the answer. A label such as “Muslim event” or “women’s event” may still leave important details unstated.

There should also be room to decline a personal question. Someone can explain a microphone requirement or a timetable preference without providing a public account of her beliefs. Keeping the discussion close to the work often makes collaboration easier.

If seeing these artists makes you want to play

Begin with the activity that interests you. Perhaps you want to sing with a small group, learn an instrument, write a melody or understand how a recording is assembled. Choosing one gives your first lesson or rehearsal a clear purpose. You do not need a finished public identity before you begin learning.

A manageable early project might be playing a short piece with another person. Agree the version, starting point and ending before you rehearse. Try the difficult transition separately, then put it back into the whole piece. Listening to one another and recovering after a mistake are part of the work, even when the piece itself is simple.

When looking for a teacher or group, describe what you want to learn and ask how sessions run. Find out whether beginners are expected to read notation, bring equipment or perform publicly. Ask about the teaching approach and how feedback is given. A clear answer helps you decide whether the setting suits your goals.

If you record a practice session, agree this with everyone involved and decide where the file will stay. Listen for one thing to improve at a time: an entrance, a change of pace or whether the words can be heard. A rehearsal recording can be useful without being ready for public sharing.

Keep a short record of what you are working on and what you want to try next. “Practise the last transition slowly” is easier to act on than “be more confident”. Progress can be quiet and specific long before it produces anything you would put on a stage.

The practical conversation before a rehearsal or show

A rehearsal is a good place to work through the actual arrangement of person, instrument and equipment. Use the setup you expect to perform with, and raise discomfort or an awkward position with the teacher or technician. If headphones or a microphone interfere with your covering, explain the problem and ask about suitable equipment options. Avoid making improvised changes to equipment you do not understand.

Make privacy preferences clear while plans are still flexible. If you need a private place to adjust your hijab, ask where it is and who uses it. Discuss photography before someone starts taking backstage pictures. A changing area and a performance area can carry different expectations, even during the same event.

Timings matter too. Arrival, setup, soundcheck, the performance and departure are separate parts of an engagement. If you need a break or space for prayer, discuss the practical arrangement with the organiser. Confirm what has actually been agreed and who will be available on the day.

For paid work in the UK, the Musicians’ Union advises getting the terms of an engagement confirmed in writing. Its live-engagement guidance also highlights clarity over the fee and who supplies the PA. Use the appropriate professional guidance for your engagement, particularly when contractual terms are unfamiliar. A friendly conversation is easier to follow through when both sides have the same details.

At a small event, one named contact can save repeated explanations. Give that person the information needed to organise the performance, and agree how any relevant details reach the rest of the team.

Making room for the next performance

If you book, teach or interview a musician who wears hijab, begin with her work. Ask about the set, the material, the instrument or the project she wants to discuss. If identity is part of the event’s subject, explain that in advance so she can decide how she wishes to take part.

Use the biography and images she supplies, and check names and roles. A bassist should receive credit for playing bass. A producer should be recognised for production. Avoid turning every introduction into a story about overcoming opposition, particularly when the person has not offered that account herself.

Discuss filming and publicity as part of the booking. Say whether you intend to capture the whole performance, short promotional clips or backstage material, and agree the uses with the people involved. Clear expectations are more helpful than a vague assurance that the footage is only for social media.

As a listener, you can give equally concrete support: share an official release, name the musician when recommending a track, or return to hear what she makes next. If you attend a show, follow the venue’s recording arrangements and respect spaces set aside for performers.

A useful next step is small. Choose one release by an artist here, hear it in full and follow something that catches your ear into another recording. The shared starting point may be hijab; the continuing relationship is with the music and the people making it.

Research notes: Artist details draw on Yuna’s official release listings and her 2016 interview with Condé Nast Traveler; Mona Haydar’s own biography and her 2017 Glamour interview; Voice of Baceprot’s official biography and Retas listing; and Glastonbury’s 2024 Woodsies announcement. The engagement reference is to the Musicians’ Union’s UK live-engagement guidance. Listening exercises and collaboration examples are original editorial suggestions.