Mona Haydar (@themostmona)was born 18th May 1988 in Flint Michigan. Her parents, Syrian immigrants who had migrated to the United States in 1971, raised her and her 7 siblings just outside of Flint. At the age of 14, she began to perform spoken word poetry in downtown, Flint, using this as an opportunity to speak about her identity as a Muslim Woman growing up in the United States. At a young age, she was mentored by a number of people who helped her to continue with her art, including Dr. Traci Currie, a professor at University of Michigan – Flint. She cited her inspirations for her art to be Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, and Lauryn Hill, all rappers who have managed to combine their rap music with their religion. After graduating from the University of Michigan – Flint in 2011, she traveled to Syria to study Islamic spirituality but returned to the US before her studies were complete because of the outbreak of the Syrian war. In Massachusetts, Mona and her husband set up a stand called Talk With A Muslim, which was meant to provide a place of healing to replace trauma with love. Her project went viral and she gained a considerable amount of fame from this work, which has continued in her music. Her debut song, Hijabi, debuted in 2017, was called one of the Top 25 Feminist Anthems and made the list of the Top 20 Best Protest Songs of 2017. In addition to her music career, she is also involved in activism, participating in the protests at Standing Rock while 6 months pregnant – her song American, speaks of her experience here.