Young French Rapper Diam's has converted to Islam, explaining to the French Press, “Medicine was not able to heal my soul, so I turned toward religion.” Diam's has received a great deal of media attention as she has adopted a black covering and hijab since converting to Islam following marriage to a Muslim man. Diam's (real name: Mélanie Georgiades, born July 25, 1980 in Cyprus) is a French-language rap artist of French and Greek Cypriot origin. Her family moved to Essonne (near Paris) in 1984. In 1998, when she was just 18, Diam's signed a development deal with BMG Music Publishing France. With the publisher's help, Diam's worked on her craft and signed with Universal Records in 1999. She appeared in a song on DJ Mehdi's 2002 album “(The Story Of) Espion”. The 2003's Brut de Femme was her breakthrough, reaching gold and spawning the top 10 single DJ. Since then she has won a number of awards and boasts of a large fan following. Her fans – waiting for her new album set to release in November – have reacted with surprise over her conversion. Paris Match has featured a four-page report devoted to her story, in which she says all profits from her new album will be donated to humanitarian organizations and that she now never leaves home without her hair covered. __
