Los Angeles rapper makes Muslim pilgrimage

LOS ANGELES (AP) Gangsta rapper Napoleon has a new name this week: Pilgrim.

The rapper, who real name is Mutah Wasin Shabazz Beale, is joining millions of other Muslims in making the annual hajj to Mecca.

For Beale, the trip to Saudi Arabia symbolizes his emergence from a world of drugs and violence.

``Before I didn't care about living or dying,'' said the 25-year-old, who lives with his fiance and 3-year-old son in Santa Clarita. ``Now I recognize how beautiful life is. I love to have another day to pray to Allah.''

Saturday was the start of the five-day annual pilgrimage to the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. It is required once in a lifetime for all Muslims who are able-bodied and can afford the trip.

Although Beale's trip comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, the possibility of war doesn't frighten him.

``I found Allah, I'm not worried,'' Beale said. ``And I've been in many Jersey neighborhoods worse than any war.''

Beale, a member of the rap group Outlawz and a protege of the late Tupac Shakur, is best known for an incident at MTV's 20th anniversary special in 2001. During a rehearsal, he grabbed the microphone from Sean ``Puffy'' Combs, starting a shoving match.

In those days, Beale was finishing a fifth of cognac every two days and carrying a gun. He said he was a Muslim at the time but just barely.

Beale's transformation began two years ago in a North Hollywood recording studio. Record producer Mikal Kamil said he saw the rapper with a malt liquor can in one hand and a marijuana cigarette in the other.

Kamil said he began introducing Beale to his faith, sharing scripture and prayers and offering advice based on Islamic teachings.

``He was a beast, a barbarian,'' Kamil said. ``But he also impressed me as a leader who could get people to move in any direction ... If he became a true Muslim, he could easily bring in thousands and millions more to the faith.''

During Ramadan in 2001, Beale observed the monthlong Islamic holiday by giving up alcohol, which is forbidden to observant Muslims.

``That broke me,'' said Beale, who started attending mosque prayer services regularly. ``I was still doing some wild stuff but I was getting closer and closer to God. You feel when God wants you to do something.''

Beale said he felt ``the empty hole in my heart'' filling.

Acquaintances noticed a change.

``He was, like, city raw,'' said Doc Bull, a longtime friend. ``He was real, real bad, hard on women and hard on the dudes he didn't love. He turned his whole life completely around. I don't want to say I didn't think he could do it, but I knew him when he was evil.''

Beale currently is working on a solo album called ``Scriptures From a Thug's Point of View.''

``I don't regret nothing in my past,'' Beale told the Los Angeles Times for a Saturday story. ``People respect me more because of it. It shows that only God can humble someone like me.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)