Very often, our youth surpass our expectations and set new standards for excellence. This is the case for Brother Najm Khalik, 18, an academic cum laude scholar and accomplished saxophonist.
From the time he was born, his parents, Brother Kaleb and Sister Crystal Muhammad, said that Brother Najm had a musical inclination that needed nurturing.
“Najm is a third-generation, Nation-baby,” Brother Kaleb Muhammad told The Final Call. “A lot of our young people choose another direction, for him to make that commitment—it wasn’t forced—I think is a foundation. He’s been playing since he was 10 years old; his grandmother introduced him. He’s been performing for three years now.”
Both parents, who attend Mosque No. 15 in Atlanta, expressed their gratitude to Allah (God) for their son’s accomplishments and gifts. The shining star told The Final Call that, despite his success thus far, he experienced difficulty at first with his playing of the saxophone.
›“My love for the saxophone wasn’t immediate; I actually wanted to give it up,” he said. “I will say it was a year or so when I started putting more effort in playing the saxophone.”
After falling in love with the instrument, he found that he could share that love with others: “What I love is it’s really fun; I’m able to play any song that I want, and I’ve already fallen in love with music.
My life, I know I have this want and how precious it is … I realize my faith is the root of me, the foundation of me. What I’m really trying to do with all these things—all of that doesn’t have a purpose if I don’t have those to share with. I realized that I’m doing literally what I love for my people.”
Bro. Najm has also released his music to the public under the album name “Genesis.” He also won several amateur talent contests and will be representing the state of Georgia in the district Talent Hunt held in Biloxi, Mississippi, in April 2024. If he wins, he will advance to the National Talent Hunt the following summer.
Bro. Najm’s mother, Sis. Crystal Muhammad, gave more background to his inspiration for music. “We’re claiming already that he’s going to win,” she said. “Kaleb would always have good music playing and he grew up on Stevie Wonder and Anita Baker.
We’re all from New York and my mother always had me performing in the arts. So, he got the love of music from his dad and the performance bug from me.”
His mother proudly said, “We did plan Najm, and I was new into the Nation and studying hard and was very much into the series ‘How to Give Birth to a God’ and I was listening to those cassettes,” she said, referring to the lecture series by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
“… My husband and I were going back and forth and I didn’t get to name the child; he was very adamant on naming the child ‘Najm.’” In Arabic, “Najm” means “star,” or “luminary. ”
She continued, “It is a blessing if you know what your passion is so you can live in your purpose every day. Najm is a big passion and purpose person as well. … My goal is for him to be happy.”
Bro. Najm is also setting the standard in his academics, said his father. “(College-wise) He’s got some decisions to make, he’s got quite a few options. … He’s very disciplined, very committed. A lot of the scholarships he has been offered are all academic. He has expressed interest in medicine; he loves farming [and] animals. He reminds me of myself.”
Bro. Najm Khalik Muhammad’s music can be streamed via Apple Music under “Najm Khalik.”
April 8, 2024
