January 5 2024 -Ibrahim's 47th Birthday
By Jesse Hofrichter (JBless)
The first 2 weeks of January are big, with Ibs and Fati’s anniversary, Ibs’ birthday, then Jehan’s birthday on the 13th. Ibs always reminded us to celebrate our mothers on our birthdays because they’re the ones that did the work. Today, I’d like to celebrate Mama Khadijah (Ibs’ mom) and also elevate and celebrate the creative side of my beloved friend, Ibrahim Salih.
In the early 2000s, Ibrahim and I were roommates for three years in a top-floor apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn along with our friend Ben, who first introduced me to Ibrahim. These years were a pivotal time in my personal, creative and social life in NYC. The good fortune of living with Ibrahim (who we dubbed, “The Mayor of Fort Greene”) afforded me the opportunity to cross paths with a host of artistic, brilliant and compelling characters from the neighborhood and beyond.
We had a vibrant apartment, full of house parties, spontaneous hangs, brainstorm sessions, and all types of creative folks flowing through. It was an era that spawned friendships, books, albums, collaborations, and the legendary Rude Movements party at APT that Ibrahim co-hosted, where he would famously grab the mic to implore everyone to turn to someone they didn’t know and introduce themselves. Ibrahim was a connector of all types of people, but especially a connector of creatives. He understood people, what drove them, and who else in this vast world they should be speaking with to get everyone closer to what they were seeking. Thanks to Ibrahim - and that apartment — I met a ton of people in those years that I remain close with two decades later.
In addition to being roommates, we would often co-create, mostly working on our own thing but sharing the space and energy. Ibrahim would sit on one side of the apartment furiously typing away on a fiction piece or poem, and I would be in the zone making beats in my home music studio. On occasion, he’d drop some spoken words over my beats, using his middle name Salih as his poetry moniker.
Our creative space sharing and beats and poetry collabs continued into our 30s, though less frequently as life became more demanding and Ibrahim took on the responsibilities of family life and a growing profile in the activist and environmental worlds. At that point we were no longer roommates, but our friendship was forever congealed. From time to time, Ibrahim would pop by my place for a quick visit and knock out an article or chapter while I made music. It was a symbiotic relationship, and his creative energy fueled mine. If I could get a few words of approval from Ibrahim, a “that’s dope” or a head nod to my beat — well, that was icing on the cake.
As life moved on, I always felt lucky to get some time with Ibrahim. Even before he was a published author traveling around to speak on panels and give keynote lectures, he was a man on the move. He had an instinct for finding the action, following the energy. But he also brought the energy. You always knew when Ibrahim was in the room. Whether he was playing host at Rude Movements, emceeing an event at the Apollo, speaking on an interfaith environmental panel, taking a seat to talk Knicks and politics on a Brooklyn corner, or catching up with folks at the Fort Greene farmer’s market, Ibrahim lifted up the vibe of any space he was in. And when you were in his presence, you felt like you were in the place to be.
When Ibrahim Salih Abdul-Matin passed on June 21st 2023, it was a devastating shock to all who knew him. It still is. It’s hard to believe someone so full of life, with so much more to offer, could be taken from us so suddenly. It’s something I’m still grappling with 7 months later.
When I returned to Brooklyn after his funeral in Los Angeles, I felt compelled to make music for my friend. The next day, I sat down, imagined Ibrahim in the room with me writing and nodding along, and made this piece as a tribute that I call, “Song for Salih.” In honor of his 1/5 birthday, I set the tempo to 105 beats per minute. I’ve shared the song with close friends in the months since his passing. Today, for his birthday, I’d like to offer it as a gift to the larger community who knew and loved him.
Please have a listen, and please drop a comment below with your memory of Ibrahim Salih’s creative side.
Note: The Launchgood crowd fundraiser for Ibrahim’s boys closes today, on his 47th birthday. Please donate/share with others.
Beautifully stated in both words and music.
Jesse, i love all of this. I could see ibrahim dancing to this, giving you the head nod. ❤️ supriya