If you are a TikTok fan, you have probably come across iLOVEFRiDAY’s music. The hip hop group is credited for popularizing the dance and lip-syncing app. The group consists of rappers Smoke Hijabi and Xeno Carr. iLOVEFRiDAY’s music consists of catchy beats and lyrics, and it’s part of the reason why the group is so popular on TikTok.
iLOVEFRiDAY has 570K subscribers on YouTube, and most of the group’s music can be found on the channel. Some of their biggest hits include MAD, GET A GRiP and TRAVEL BAN. This piece will look at the iLOVEFRiDAY’s career, the inspiration behind the group’s biggest hit, and the criticism the group has had to overcome.
iLoveFRiDAY’s first attempt at vlogging failed
Xeno and Hijabi are reported to have met via mutual friends. The Atalanta natives first became friends before they started making music together. Hijabi was born in America, but she can trace her roots to the Middle East. Xeno was a musician from a young age while Smoke was a photographer. The pair combined efforts and started a vlog, but it was a failure.
They didn’t give up, and they started another channel in which they posted their songs. Despite some negative reviews, the channel grew. Xeno and Hijabi usually posted their content on Fridays, and so they decided to name their channel iLOVEFRiDAY.
Xeno and Hijabi were friends for a long time before starting a relationship
Xeno and Hijabi’s relationship is a bit complicated as most of their fans don’t know whether the two are dating or not. The couple addressed their relationship in a July 2018 interview with DJ Smallz Eyes. Hijabi explained that they were friends for a long time before they started dating. She said:
“It was a long time. We know each other pretty well so… Basically, we both liked each other, but we were both pussy… It was mutual.”
In a later interview with All Urban Central, Xeno said, “This is a serious situation like we go out… Some people still, obviously, they don’t know, they like, ‘It can’t be true,’ and I’m like, ‘It is.’”
However, there are fans that continue to doubt the couple. Carr stated in a video posted by the couple on TikTok thanking fans for getting them to 500K followers:
“A lot of you guys have been wondering whether we are brother and sister or boyfriend and girlfriend.”
iLOVEFRiDAY became a hit after they released a Mia Khalifa diss track
iLOVEFRiDAY became a global sensation after feuding with Mia Khalifa. Mia Khalifa is a renowned internet celebrity and former porn star. The feud began after a screenshot emerged, showing Mia criticizing Hijabi for smoking weed while wearing a hijab. The screenshot contained a tweet from Mia and a screengrab from iLOVEFRiDAY’s HATE ME video: The tweet read:
“She’s so disrespectful to all Muslim women and gives us a bad image smh.”
Smoke reacted to the tweet via a diss she posted on Twitter, but her fans wanted more. iLOVEFRiDAY gave fans what they wanted and released a diss track titled Hit or Miss. The track became a hit not because it was a Mia Khalifa diss, but because of its catchy beat and lyrics. The group first released Hit or Miss, and Sony Music Entertainment later re-released it. The song’s original video was briefly taken off YouTube in early 2019 due to a copyright issue. Hit or Miss was the first song on iLOVEFRiDAY’s second EP Mood.
Later on, it was revealed that the tweet that led to the feud was a fake. Furthermore, Mia is a non-practicing Catholic, and so such a tweet from her wouldn’t have made sense. It’s unclear whether Xeno and Hijabi knew the tweet was fake before releasing the song, but given its success, we don’t think they mind. Mia Khalifa is yet to address the diss track.
Smoke Hijabi (Aqsa Malik) has been criticized for her conduct in videos
The comment made by ‘Mia Khalifa’ was fake, but it’s a comment that Hijabi has gotten used to from critics. Hijabi is a practicing Muslim, and she has been criticized for failing to adhere to the rules of her religion in the videos she makes. Smoke understands the criticism, but she doesn’t let it affect her or her music. She revealed in an interview with Curated Flame:
“Everyone expects us to be all good and live a certain way. So I guess when I come out and I have my hijab on, I’m doing, you know, things. They are like, ‘Oh, she can’t smoke, she can’t show skin, she can’t do that, she can’t sing.’ That’s why I guess… I’m not gonna be, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ It is what it is.”
Aqsa grew up in America, and she didn’t wear a hijab while in the States. She spent close to four years in Pakistan, and while there, she wore a hijab. Hijabi is a practicing Muslim, but she doesn’t believe in some of the restrictions set out by her religion.
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