Hassan Hakmoun is known as the Godfather of Gnawa. After witnessing the magic of music and healing at a young age, he went on to become a master of his craft and share Gnawa music to the world.
Hayat Life Managing Editor Maha Qadri spoke with Hakmoun about his long career in Gnawa music and its mark on the modern world.
Hassan Hakmoun witnessed a miracle that geared his journey toward Gnawa music.
Qadri: I saw that, since your early teens, you’ve been regarded as somewhat of a master. I also read the title “Godfather of Gnawa” thrown around. I was wondering if there was a moment or a performance that earned you those titles.
Hakmoun: It goes back to my family, my mom especially. She’s a healer. She used to do trance ceremonies at home, and we grew up with that. I became interested in Gnawa when I saw a miracle during a ceremony. My youngest sister was two, and I was around seven. My sister was touched by the spirits. My mother said she burned a child of the spirits, so they burned her back. Her body was covered with cigarette marks; she looked like a kitchen strainer. My mom did a ceremony for her to make peace with those spirits.
I watched as they drummed and played spiritual music. They killed a goat, took the skin off, and put it around my sister. When they took it off, all the marks were gone. I thought, “Wow, that’s like a miracle or magic!” I realized then that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to perform this music and help people, so that was my beginning.
Qadri: How long did it take for you to gain mastery of your instrument and your craft?
Hakmoun: At the age of 14, I began performing at ceremonies. They last all night, so you have to know what you’re doing. I started because the master who played for my mother during ceremonies suddenly quit. She was freaking out, but then people said, “Hey, how about your son?” She thought I was too young, but she gave me a chance. After the ceremony, people were asking me to do other performances. I had people working for me by the time I was 15.
Hakmoun discusses the importance of Gnawa in religion and culture.
Qadri: I read that Gnawa has religious connotations. Could you tell me a bit about the history?
Hakmoun: Gnawa music is a part of Sufism. It’s not modern or classical, and everything has to do with God. The words, the prayer — it’s similar to church music. It’s about praising God, the prophets and saints, and the people who were there before you.
I’ve been in New York City close to 40 years, so I kind of grew up here. When I brought this music in the 80s, people were just getting introduced to it. I’ve even had people listen to the music and convert to Islam! I did a show at the Symphony Space in 1989, and this American guy came to me and said, “Can I give you a hug?” I said, “Yeah,” and he said, ”I just want you to know I just buried my father this morning and you brought me close to him just by listening to your music.”
He did not understand a word of what I was singing, but there are so many other stories just like this. It’s incredible.
Qadri: Since gaining popularity, is there anything about Gnawa music that is not as well known? What would you tell people about it?
Hakmoun: Gnawa music is now being recognized by UNICEF. It’s now actually a part of protected music. When I started playing in America, nobody knew it, but what I play has a lot of different sounds from different styles of music like jazz, reggae, funk, hip-hop, and rap.
I started to blend sounds from really famous jazz musicians, like Tar Ceri and Yusef Lutzi, Firas Andro, Marcus Miller, and now this music is huge. I inspired a lot of musicians in Morocco to mix things up, and now you can hear it in all the rock music and funk reggae.
I once did a song for Kronos Quartet, and it was number one on Billboard magazine for 37 weeks. Number one on classical music. I’d never done any classical music, just one song for this Kronos Quartet. They’re huge. Because of that, I started getting calls from orchestras all over the world like the Symphony Orchestra of Sydney, of London, of Poland.
Hassan Hakmoun tells us of his greatest achievements and what’s next.
Qadri: You’ve had a very long career. What is your biggest achievement? What do you look back on as the most important part of your career?
Hakmoun: I’ve performed in some of the biggest places on the planet. Woodstock, I did in front of a million people. That’s definitely the biggest. I played Madison Square Garden with Peter Gabriel and opened for him all over Europe. I played at the Roskilde Festival with over 300,000 people in Denmark. I played all over Europe, like 40 different countries, and almost every festival. I was very busy in the 80s and 90s.
I’ve done a few movies. I did a movie with LL Cool J called “The Roller Ball.” I also did a movie with Tim Allen called “Jungle to Jungle” in 1994. I did a lot of songs for show tracks, for movies, and documentaries.
Qadri: Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations and have they changed over the years?
Hakmoun: Miles Davis, if we’re talking about jazz. Bob Marley came in the 70s; I’m a big fan of Bob. I got a chance to play with his band in Morocco, The Wailers. I toured with his wife, Rita Marley in Brazil. From Brazil, Roberto Gio. When it comes to rock I have so much respect for Peter Gabriel.
Qadri: I have just one more question for you. Do you have any upcoming projects or shows that you’re looking forward to?
Hakmoun: I’m looking forward to going to Morocco. Due to the earthquake, I’m going to do whatever I can to help out. I had a project, but everything got postponed because of the earthquake.
We were about to start a festival in Morocco, in the Marrakesh community, with a group called the Hausa from Nigeria. We want to do a festival between Nigeria and Morocco, or Marrakesh. The festival is supposed to bring the Hausa together because they are from that region. I was supposed to go there, but because of the disaster, it’s just not possible. I just want people to pray for Morocco and the countries affected.
