Rashid Bhikha Interviewed

Nabila:             What is your full name?
Rashid: Rashid Ahmed Bhikha

Nabila:             That’s a mouthful, I’m sure you’re not called by your full name?
Rashid:             No, that would be too long (laughs) my friends call me Rash and everyone else calls me Rashid.

Nabila:             Let’s get to know the real Rashid, tell me what your favourite hobby
                        is?
Rashid:             I love sports, there’s no question about that. I also love singing.

Nabila:             What is your favourite sport and why?
Rashid:             Soccer, I enjoy playing soccer, I enjoy watching it and I could play soccer all day. I’m always up for a game, it gets me energized and excited.

Nabila:             You seem to really love soccer, hey? What else do you like, what’s your greatest like?
Rashid:             (laughs) that would be soccer, nothing beats it.

Nabila:             What about your greatest dislike?
Rashid:             Frogs.

Nabila:             Describe yourself in one word?
Rashid:             Energetic.

Nabila:             That’s interesting, why would you say that?
Rashid:             Well, because I’m up for almost anything.

Nabila:             What is your favourite food?
Rashid:             Lasagne

Nabila:             What is your least favourite food?
Rashid:             Soup

Nabila:             Favourite car?
Rashid:             Ferrari or even a Lamborghini

Nabila:             What’s your favourite thing to do on the weekend?
Rashid:             Sleep, sleep, sleep [laughs] and go out with my friends. We go for ten-pin-bowling, playing soccer and other fun stuff.

Nabila:             What book are you reading at the moment?
Rashid:             “Wayne Rooney - My Life So far”

Nabila:             Your favourite book?
Rashid:             [laughs] I’m not much of a reader.

Nabila:             I understand that you just started high school at a new school. What’s it like, what was your first day like?
Rashid:             Yes, I just started at an all boys’ school called Parktown Boys. I was nervous and scared on my first day. The thing that made me most nervous is the initiation but I was lucky because I didn’t get initiated at all.

Nabila:             What’s it like in an all boy’s school?
Rashid:             I would prefer being in a co-ed school (laughs) but I think that the advantage to a single-ed school is that there is less distraction.

Nabila:             What would you like to be when you grow up?
Rashid:             I’m not sure yet but I have a few things that I may want to do, like singing, graphics design, oh yes or even a lawyer.

Nabila:             Would you like to follow in your dad’s footsteps?
Rashid:             Yes, I think it’s great that my dad has made a success from his hobby. I would like to sing as a hobby but also try out other things like he does.

Nabila:             How does it feel to have a famous dad?
Rashid:             It feels normal, I guess that’s because I grew up with my dad singing.

Nabila:             What purpose do you think that nasheeds serve in the world today?
Rashid:             I think that nasheeds can be an important tool because it is a means of communication, which is a beneficial tool in society.

Nabila:             How about the youth? Do you think that they are interested in the nasheed genre?
Rashid:             Well, that’s tough because teenagers are not that familiar with nasheeds but I think that if they are exposed to rap nasheeds as opposed to the slower ones they may show more interest because it is more popular amongst teenagers.

Nabila:             Do you think that it can serve as a tool of major social change, help the youth refrain from evil?
Rashid:             I’m not sure that it can help change the evils of society; perhaps if there are always new sounds and appealing songs, it will make a difference.

Nabila:             What is the difference between nasheeds and mainstream songs?
Rashid:             Nasheeds have a bigger message, it is more meaningful and is less vulgar than mainstream.

Nabila:             What is the greatest problem, in your opinion, that faces the youth today?
Rashid:             HIV/AIDS, it is becoming a huge problem even in schools.

Nabila:             What are your views on teens and drugs?
Rashid:             Just yesterday a friend of mine told me about this guy that’s making about fifty million Rand selling drugs to teens. Drugs are a huge problem in South Africa, I have heard about and seen the effects that it has on people. The main reason behind drugs is peer pressure, teenagers feel like it will help them fit in or be cool.

Nabila:             Do you think that music can help curb teenagers from drugs, alcohol and so forth?
Rashid:             I’m not sure – maybe – but it is tough for young people and sometimes, I don’t think that teenagers take those lessons from music, perhaps when you’re older a song will speak out to you and help you turn away the bad things.

Nabila:             What other issues do you face as a teen in high school?
Rashid:             Competition between people. It’s all about being the best in academics, sport and basically everything else. Also, there is a lot of fighting at school, sometimes it’s over silly things like if someone bumps into someone else in the corridor, a fight will start over that (laughs).

Nabila:             Does religion play a role in the lives of the youth?
Rashid:             I can’t speak for anyone but myself. Religion is very important in my life. Prayer is a big part of my life, in the mornings my dad and I pray together and it gets my day off to a good start. It is also important to make dua [supplication]. My dad always says that Allah [swt] always accepts the duas of children as well as adults but it is important to ask Him, because He always answers.
 
Nabila:             What is your motto on life?
Rashid:             ‘Practice makes perfect.’ My granny always says that you should persevere even if you’re not good at something.

Nabila:             As a teenager what would you like to change in your life, if you could?
Rashid:             well, the first thing I’d change is my school, I’d like to go to a co-ed school (smiles) I would have loved to go to the National School of Arts, I had already enrolled at Parktown Boys and so I missed that opportunity.

Nabila:             Give me a brief description of what you think it means to be a South African.
Rashid:             To me being South African means being proud of your country because of what we’ve been through. The riots, deaths and the general state of inequality and injustice that apartheid carried out, even though these things are negative things it helped us become the rainbow nation that we are today. It is very important to know about your country. Also, South Africa is full of culture – Nelson Mandela, a worldwide hero; Soweto; the Apartheid Museum and the grave of Hector Pieterson which is a symbol of courage and hardship, just to mention a few. The people of South Africa are friendly and vibrant and even though crime is a problem, we are positive and that’s what it means to be a South African 

Nabila:             What is the thing you most love about being South African?
Rashid:             (smiles) The fact that the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be hosted by South Africa.

Nabila:             There’s the soccer fanatic in you coming out again, hey? So who is your favourite team?
Rashid:             I don’t have only one favourite (shrugs) it’s Brazil, Argentina and Portugal.

Nabila:             If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?
Rashid:             Durban or Cape Town. If I could choose a place out of South Africa I’d choose Brazil [smiles] or even Portugal, and it won’t surprise you to know that the reason is soccer! I’d like to meet and play with the soccer players.

Nabila:             Your favourite holiday destination?
Rashid:             Durban, it’s so relaxing and I know the place so well. Also, the beach and activities are very nice.

Nabila:             What is your proudest moment?
Rashid:             It was when I made it to the South African Soccer District tournament.

Nabila:             Your scariest moment?
Rashid:             Hmmm… let’s see… one night, when I was about nine or ten, I was home alone and this car kept driving past the house and after a while the guy stopped, he then got off the car and looked inside the house. I was terrified, so many thoughts raced through my mind. I phoned my dad immediately and thank goodness he drove off, but I’ll tell you it was pretty scary.

Nabila:             Your most difficult moment / experience?
Rashid:             My dad is planning this trip to London this year in April for a show, and I really, really would love to go, but he said that I can’t because of school and everything, so I’m quite disappointed about that and it was hard for me to accept. Also, my favourite band “Outlandish” will be there so that makes it even worse.

Nabila:             Your birthday is tomorrow, what’s the best gift you could get?
Rashid:             To see all my family members..

Nabila:             Tell me about this picture that is featured on your ‘My Space’?
Rashid:             We were in Durban last year [2006] at a function and Dawud [Wharnsby] said to me, ‘look at me’ because my back was turned away and as I turned around he snaps at his camera and took the photo with my hands on my face. He then suggested that I put it on my website, so I did (laughs) Dawud is a great guy.

Nabila:             Not many people get to have the experience to record a song in an actual recording studio, what was that like?
Rashid:             At first, I was so excited and I was not sure of what to do. My dad made me feel more at ease and he told me to just be myself and sing as I would normally sing. But it’s not as glamorous as people think, it’s a lot of hard work it takes patience and time to make a song.   

Nabila:             What is your favourite song on the ‘ Allah Knows’ album?
Rashid:             It would be ‘ A Child’s Prayer’ because I wrote it by myself, with the help of my dad and Naadirah [Alli]. Everobdy loves that song and that’s another reason why it’s my favourite.

Nabila:             What was it like working with Yusuf Islam, what is he like?
Rashid:             I learnt a lot from Yusuf Islam. Working with him was so exciting. He is always so polite and I love his songs.

Nabila:             How about Dawud Wharnsby?
Rashid:             That was also exciting and so much fun (laughs) Dawud is hilarious he makes us laugh all the time with his jokes and stuff. He is friendly, funny and easy to work with.

Nabila:             Naadirah?
Rashid:             Naadirah and I became friends because of the ‘Allah Knows’ project. She is quiet and doesn’t like to talk much.

Nabila:             How does it feel to sing live in front of thousands of people?
Rashid:             When I just walked on stage I was overwhelmed and nervous because there were so many people in front of me but after a while I got into it and I would love to do it again. I must say that I enjoyed the attention (smiles broadly) and I could get used to it (laughs).

Nabila:             How was your trip to London? What was the highlight?
Rashid:             The trip was fantastic; the highlight was that I got the opportunity to sing in front of all those people. The worst thing was that I had to come back (sighs).

Nabila:             What is your relationship with your dad like?
Rashid:             I’d say that it is a normal relationship between father and son. He is really understanding and I can basically talk to him about anything.

Nabila:             Give us some insight to Zain Bhikha, the dad; tell the readers something they would not know?
Rashid:             He likes to be right… always (sighs).

Nabila:             Do you think that family is important?
Rashid:             Yes, very important. It is important for teenagers to have support from moms and dads and other family members.

Nabila:             Can families help teens avoid drugs, alcohol and other evils?
Rashid:             It depends, because teens turn to these evils because of peer pressure. I think that parents should be aware of where their children are like they should not allow teens to go to parties and stuff, this way they will help avoid such things.

Nabila:             What are your brothers like?
Rashid:             I have two brothers, Mohommed is 6 and Yusuf is 2. We get along well and I think that they look up to me.

Nabila:             How would you like them to see you?
Rashid:             I’d like to be a role model to them and teach them to be a good brother and person. Mohommed [6] runs around the house singing my songs and says that he wants to be just like me (smiles).

Nabila:             Who is your favourite artist?
Rashid:             Outlandish (definitely!) then Dawud Wharnsby, my Dad, Native Deen, a few others. My favourite songs at the moment are ‘Look into my eyes’ by Outlandish, ‘Truth that lies inside’ by Dawud Wharnsby, ‘Allah Knows’  and ‘Small Deeds’ by Native Deen.

Nabila:             Why haven’t you chosen any mainstream artists?
Rashid:             Mainstream artists are not themselves, they primarily do not write their own songs, others write it for them.

Nabila:             What is a typical day in the life of Rashid Bhikha?
Rashid:             I wake up at 6:30. My dad gets me up every morning, and then I get dressed, have breakfast and then our driver, Johan, picks me up and takes me to school. I get out of school at different times everyday and after school I have drumming lessons or cricket practice.

Nabila:             What is your favourite instrument?
Rashid:             The Snare Drum.

Nabila:             What is your opinion on musical instruments in Nasheeds?
Rashid:             I don’t see it as a problem.

Nabila:             Parting words to readers?
Rashid:             kids should stay in school, so that they can make a success of themselves. Don’t do drugs; it will only destroy your life. Also, try something that you enjoy, work at it and you can achieve something great.