Career

After graduating Long Island University and playing in the night club scene for a few years Tariq collaborated with musicians such as Keith Sweat, Johnny Kemp and the group GQ. Eventually Tariq had the opportunity to tour and travel with legendary Hip Hop group P.M. Dawn. The group went on tour with Peter Gabriel during his W.O.M.A.D (World of Music Art and Dance) Tour which included acts such as the Talking Heads, Sinead O’Connor, Ziggy Marley, Lenny Kravitz, and Youssou N’Dour. 

“We had like three tour busses [and] every country we went to we had new tour busses and we just driving and we had our own TV”s and VCR’s in our bunks it was just such an amazing experience… seeing Lenny Kravitz doing soundcheck is one of the… biggest experiences that I’ve, uh, learned in the music business you know, seeing how he, he works on each instrument at a time and each instrument, each instrument has their own tech like a bass tech, and a guitar tech, and they get that sound right then that sound then two of them play together then three of them and I, I just learned so much…” (Snare)

The tour provided invaluable experiences and lessons in collaboration that he has kept with him for the rest of his life. Tariq has also had the opportunity to collaborate and jam with acts such as Queen Latifah, Amel Larrieux, Groove Theory, Sami Yusuf, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Due to the vast variety of musical experiences Tariq has had, fusion and collaboration has been at the forefront of his musical identity. Tariq can not only crossover into different genres due to his experiences but he also incorporates them into his own style. Through his career his style has become an eclectic genre bending fusion that has taken him around the world.

Tariq is good, and he knows it, however, he is humble and understands that his music is not only about performance but also education. He empowers the fact that music provides an outlet, and that collaboration connects people through music. 

In 2003, Tariq converted to Islam and became the musical director as well as resident drummer for Native Deen a Muslim Hip Hop group based out of Washington D.C. With the help of the United States cultural affairs department Native Deen has traveled all around the world spreading positivity as well as teaching the importance of collaboration in art. Tariq has continuously been influenced with the different sounds he has encountered and they always end up adding “a whole n’other genre and realm to [his] music.” (Snare)

By working with Native Deen Tariq transitioned towards playing more family oriented shows which subsequently lead him into teaching his own workshops. The State Department quickly took a liking to the fusion and collaboration Tariq employs in his music and began to work directly with him setting up workshops all over the world. 

“I fuse the genre and the instrument of the country I go to with American Hip Hop, so we’ll have djembe’s and sitar’s and all kinds of foreign instruments playing with Hip Hop and everywhere we go there are Hip Hop artists like in Indonesia, in Egypt they're rapping in Arabic, in Indonesia they are rapping in Bahasa, you know, in their language…” (Snare)

Today Tariq continues these workshops and has since self published a book titled, Kids Can Play Hip Hop Drums, encouraging kids to pick up and learn the drums for themselves. Tariq’s most recent musical venture has been joining the musical collective, M.B.P., The Morrisania Band Project, as the drummer and musical director.    

M.B.P. is an ode to collaboration. The group serves as a musical incubator in the heart of Melrose in the South Bronx. It invites musicians of any level to come and perform in a communal and collaborative manner providing for further exposure and experience. Elissa Carmona, Melrose native, spearheaded the project creating workshops for musicians to collaborate and create. The first workshop was in September of 2016 and since its inception the project has been a success. 

Tariq brings a type of guidance and mentorship to the group that is unparalleled. Given that he has a plethora of experiences to pull from and resources and knowledge from a lengthy career he also brings a collaborative DNA that helps the group grow together. Novice musicians are learning faster than expected and it is due to the collaborative and communal nature that is The Morrisania Band Project.

In recognizing Tariq’s diverse musical history one can fully realize the importance collaboration has had on his identity. Everything that he has learned he makes sure to teach and share with his own students. Everything relates back to the roots upon which he himself learned — the collaborative ecosystem that Hip Hop grew and prospered from. Music was the rope that lead him to a positive life and he now offers that rope to the students and youth he interacts with.