Jerry Calliste Jr., better known as Hashim, was born on November 26, 1965, in Bronx, New York. He is a songwriter, producer, and Electro Funk pioneer mostly known for primordial 1983 hip hop, electro-funk classic "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)."
"The Soul" is truly a special piece of early Electro with a legendary use of Roland TR-808 that is recognizable as it is in "Planet Rock," "Egypt Egypt" or "Loose Ends - Hanging On A String" or like in Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing."
During the early 1980s, it reached #43 in the "Billboards Dance Disco Charts." It is unknown how many copies of the record were sold, but parts of "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" has been sampled in more than 130 official releases.