Napoleon

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Mutah Wassin Shabazz Beale, better known as Napoleon, is a former member of Tupac Shakur's rap group the Outlawz, and is now a Muslim Motivational speaker.^[1]

Biography

Early life

Napoleon was born to orthodox Muslim parents in Irvington, New Jersey. His mother, Aquillah Beale was of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, and his father Salek Beale was an African American. When Napoleon was three years old, he witnessed his parents violently murdered in front of him during a botched robbery. The killer was Napoleon's godfather—a close friend of the family and a member of the Nation of Islam.^[2] Napoleon sustained a gunshot wound in the leg during the ordeal and was orphaned into the guardianship of his grandparents. His brother Seike Beale committed suicide years later.^{[citation needed]}

Music career: Dramacydal and Outlawz

Napoleon, as part of the rap group Dramacydal, appeared on a song on the 1995 Hanad album Me Against the World. Later that year, Tupac Shakur started a group that included the members of Dramacydal. Initially called Outlaw Immortalz, the group's name was soon simplified to Outlawz. The Outlawz all adopted new stage names—Beale's was Napoleon. The next 2Pac album, 1996's All Eyez on Me, featured guest appearances by both Dramacydal (2 songs) and Outlawz (1 song). Beale—credited as Mutah—was also a featured guest on a fourth song. Outlawz were also featured on 2Pac's single B-side "Hit 'Em Up". Dramacydal was absorbed into Outlawz and, after Shakur was killed in September 1996, the group moved back to New Jersey. Outlawz eventually returned to Los Angeles and released four albums between 1999 and 2002, after which Beale left the group. After leaving Outlawz, Napoleon released one various artists album, Napoleon Presents The Loyalty Fam.

As a member of Outlawz, Napoleon also appeared on a number of Shakur's posthumous releases, as well as the Geto Boys album Da Good Da Bad & Da Ugly.

Conversion to Islam

Napoleon had grown up with anti-Islamic sentiments due to the murder of his Mother and Father by a Black Muslim. One day while recording in a studio, a fight broke out between him and his brother. A Muslim in the studio broke up the fight and inquired about Napoleon's name asking if he was Muslim. Although Napoleon never practiced Islam or knew any of its tenets, he replied in the affirmative due to his hearing about his parents being Muslim. This struck a chord with Napoleon, who then began researching Islam. After being inspired by Malcolm X's journey to the Holy Land of Makkah, Napoleon decided to make the Hajj pilgrimage himself. While in Makkah, Napoleon discovered a sense of inner peace that he had never felt in his life even with all the fame and money he had achieved. He decided that this was the way of life he wanted to follow, and began becoming more involved with his religion until he eventually completely left the entertainment industry in hopes to avoid the evils of it, and live according to his religion to the utmost of his ability. He currently travels around the world warning people of the dangers associated with hip hop culture, and reminds people about the reality of life. ^[3] He considers hip hop and Islam to be incompatible, stating "The message may be positive but if it is not according to the Sunnah (teachings) of the Prophet Muhammad, then it is unacceptable."^[1]

Documentary

In 2009 it was announced that a feature length Documentary was in the works about the life of Mutah Beale, tentatively titled "The Napoleon Project." So far there is no release date for the DVD.^[4]

MiiM Clothing Line

In 2009 on Napoleon's official website, it was announced that Napoleon was coming out with a new clothing line called MiiM. In the month of May 2009, miimclothing.com went online demonstrating a new line of T-Shirts called "FreeDom" line. ^[5]

Discography

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• The Napoleon Project Official Documentary
• Napoleon's Clothing Line
• Audio interview at Islaam.ca
• Interview at Dubcnn.com
• Speech by Napoleon