Mamba Mentality. Only one thing comes to mind. Number 24, the guy who tore his Achilles and stayed on the court to make a free throw afterwards, for what many would consider a career-ending injury. Mamba Mentality is more than just an attitude. There’s an unrelenting work ethic that pushes beyond physical limitations and abilities.
Simply put, it’s the quest to be better today than you were yesterday. Mamba mentality is committing yourself to a single task or goal; not everyone can do that. Mamba Mentality comes with sacrifice; there is an obsession to be great that is often misunderstood, which comes at the expense of time, effort, priorities, and a toll on one’s personal life.
Post mortem, there’s something sacred about comparing anything or anyone to Kobe Bryant, in any realm or any arena. Out of respect to the legend, this piece here is about the Mentality of Mamba.
Mamba Hamissi and his wife Nadia arrived in Detroit, Michigan, as refugees from Burundi. We felt it was important to document their story and Baobab Fare for Humble Kitchen for many reasons. It’s moving, inspirational, and unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Their journey was made for TV with its layers of backstories, twists, and turns.
Nadia fled Burundi in 2013 after an assassination attempt on her life from her work as a human rights activist. We almost derailed our story on Baobab Fare due to our curiosity regarding that part of her story. The first two questions we asked Nadia resulted in a tearful response that we left in our editing room for Humble Kitchen. I didn’t think we’d make it through the sheet of questions we had for her when we filmed. Some things, especially those of a traumatic and political nature, are best left unexplored.
There’s a beautiful grace to how Nadia carries those harrowing experiences internally. As a couple, Mamba and Nadia both transmit smiles that light up rooms. Their sense of humor and charisma draw you in the moment you meet them. Nadia and Mamba are extremely joyful and gracious human beings despite all they’ve been through. Immigrant experiences often leave people guarded, closed off, and afraid. The hostile environment towards immigrants in America, fueled by this administration, doesn’t help. We’ve learned that they are fearless and open to welcoming you into their world.
As an immigrant, when you’ve been through the worst, like growing up in a war-torn country, food insecurity, lack of resources, and socioeconomic barriers to education, you can overcome anything. Mamba Hamissi had to wait three years to see his wife Nadia after she fled for her life from Burundi. He was constantly denied a visa to enter the United States. The plot twist on this point is that Nadia found out she was pregnant when she arrived in the United States.
Mamba did not get to hold his newborn twin girls when they arrived in this world. Mamba could not be there for his spouse, Nadia, while she raised them on her own for the first two years of their lives. Today, they live happily in a suburb of Detroit in a beautiful home, thriving as successful restaurateurs.
There’s a mental fortitude that drove Mamba to overcome so many obstacles to get to where he is in life. He arrived in Detroit, not speaking English, not knowing a single person other than his wife. All while, he was carrying the burden that there were so many people back at home dependent on him.
The common immigrant mindset is to keep your head down, not draw attention to yourself, endure any disrespect, and do whatever pays the bills. As an immigrant, you often feel that you don’t have the luxury of “pursuing your dreams” and that any job is a good job.
On the next episode of Humble Kitchen, we captured the compelling story of how Mamba Hamissi went from working several menial jobs as an immigrant to becoming one of the leading community/business leaders of Detroit. All driven by stubborn self-belief.
Mamba filled a void that existed in the culinary landscape of America, which left out East African cuisine. The longing he and his wife Nadia felt for the food from their home country led them to recall recipes from memory. The couple began serving that food to their neighbors and community through pop-ups, events, and social gatherings.
Mamba and Nadia always credit the city of Detroit for their success. A story like theirs only happens with the help of a community, good will, and the presence of opportunity. Mamba and Nadia only needed “one shot” (Detroit cliche) to leverage their business knowledge and culinary instincts into a success story. The mentality of Mamba is real, it’s unstoppable, it’s GOAT-ed.
You might think I have given away most of the plot to their episode of Humble Kitchen, but I promise I have yet to touch the surface of their story. I urge you to watch in astonishment at how far they have come.
Please support immigrant businesses. If ever in Detroit, make it a point to go to Baobab Fare and order the slow-roasted goat shank with half rice pilau, half coconut rice. Treat yourself to all the desserts, go home with a bag of coffee, a t-shirt, or any of the products sold at the counter.
Mamba makes it a point to hire immigrants like him; he’s willing to take the time to train those with no experience to bring them along. The Mentality of Mamba relies on instinct, heart, and determination, not as cold as Mamba Mentality, but just as calculating.
