Story: Zia Khan | Photo: Iqra Promotions
An event organised by Fir Vale’s Iqra Promotions attracted a large audience of predominantly young people in Sheffield in December. Napoleon, former member of the internationally-renowned rap group Outlawz, embraced Islam in 2002 and has since disassociated himself with the rap industry. He now travels the world as a motivational speaker and addresses huge crowds about the ill-effects of gun crime, drugs and the dangers associated with hip hop culture, reminding people about the reality of life. Napoleon was in Sheffield as part of his current world tour.
Ahmir Hussain, spokesperson for Iqra Promotions, said:
“We felt it was important to invite Napoleon to Sheffield to speak to the youth about the detrimental effects that drugs, gangs and crime in general have on individuals and the community as a whole. We hope that many of the youth attending this evening’s event will take something positive away and implement it in working towards building a safer and more progressive community”.
The Outlawz were headed by 2pac Shakur, who to date has sold 75 million albums worldwide making him one of the best-selling artists in the world. 2pac was killed in 1996 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
Napoleon began by discussing his tragic childhood and how his parents were murdered when he was two years old. He then went on to talk about his life with 2pac Shakur and how he lived a life of fame, earning millions of dollars and selling millions of records. He concluded by discussing how the death of 2pac and many of his friends prompted him to question his own life and resulted in him leaving the life of fame to pursue a life as a humble motivational speaker and founder of many orphanages around the world. Napoleon is also launching his own TV station to introduce people to Islam. Napoleon TV will launch on Sky’s Up & Coming channel and will air across Europe and North Africa.
“I was an orphan and this is something I want to do because it is close to my heart,” Napoleon said about his TV station. “I will not be making a single penny out of this. All money raised will go towards helping orphaned children.”
For news on similar events and how to get involved, please contact 0114 243 8786 or visit http://www.iqrapromotions.com.