Bio

"Music runs through my veins, it helps me stay sane, it helps me maintain through tha' pain" Those are lyrics from a song on my upcoming album, "Kingdom of Rhymes". They are real. Just as real as I have been, in this industry of backstabbers and lies. The rap game is dirtier than the dope game in many ways. We mentally inject what we say into the minds of listeners with little regard for those that stand in our way. Many so-called Mc's would kill their own kin to survive in this game, just as the Dope Man would kill his by selling his product to even his own mother or brother in order to get that dollar. There are way too many "Caines" in this game ready to slay "Abel" in order to succeed. I have experienced this far too many times in this - "Kingdom of Rhymes". I am not a rapper. I am an MC. If you know the difference then you know and hopefully respect the origins of Hip Hop. My career began while attending Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas. Located an hour south of Houston, which is my home town. At the age of eleven, I along with my brother was abandoned in Freeport by my parents. We lived alone on the street for almost a year. Eventually we were placed into foster care at the Brazoria County Youth Home in Freeport, which is basically a modern day orphanage. I lived there until a month after turning eighteen. I was back on the street. While attending high school I began to battle rap in the halls with whoever thought they could hang. Eventually I formed a group by the name of Def Squad with a couple of classmates. There was a coach at the school that used to DJ at parties and dances in the area. I used to just hang around the DJ table mesmerized by the way he was cuttin' on those Techniques. The two brothers and I wound up doing somewhat of an audition for the coach during an off period in his class. I had written a song called Kingdom of Rhymes which was the first structured song I had ever written. That’s why I feel that the name Kingdom of Rhymes is fitting for my new album. Our objective was to get the coach to DJ for us. We also knew that he had friends that had a studio. Of course after hearing us and seeing us lay it down at pep rallies and in the halls he was with it. We jumped in the studio but the two brothers that I still have much love and respect for (Lee "Cool Lee", and Ricky Alston) began missing studio dates. One night they missed, the coach (Champ X) and I went ahead and recorded a song without them. I remember the engineer saying, "Man ya'll don't even need those guys, this shit is great"! So there we was KB (which was my old stage name) and Champ (who later became Champ X), as Def Squad. We wound up signing a record deal with a Houston Based company which led to us signing with Ichiban Records later. Our first album was titled, "Hard Hittin'". People loved it. We shot a video and released the single, "Love Is Blind" with the flip side, "Hardcore Hip Hop". The video was in regular rotation on BET for about nine months. At the same time we were touring with Kid Frost, Bobby Jimmy, and 2 Live Crew just to name a few. We hung with Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Ghetto Boys, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul - really too many to name. We won the title of "Best Rap Act" two years in a row in the Houston Press Music Awards. We got allot of radio play on college radio. We then began to work on our new album, "Countdown To The Year 2000". This album was far different than the first. It was very political and message oriented. During the recording of this album Champ became a member of the Nation of Islam. He actually gave me my Quran which I began to read all the time. It opened my eyes to many things. Eventually I converted to Islam and changed my name to Mujahid Abdul Ali. Unfortunately the version of Islam that I was practicing which is true Islam (the word Islam means peace in Arabic), and the version Champ X was practicing were different. The Nation of Islam is Pro-Black which I have no problem with, but when it clashes with the true teachings which state that Islam is a non discriminating religion something is wrong. We began to debate about this after I sensed him pulling away from me. He was convinced by the Nations teachings that by involving himself with someone white, even though a Muslim, he was betraying the black race. In reality it was me he betrayed. That pretty much ended Def Squad. I was out of the game for about a year then began purchasing my own studio equipment. I started producing tracks and recording many different people. I hand picked the ones that I thought had potential and created a new group, Hit Squad. The other members had never been recorded before this let alone perform in front of a crowd. Although they did freestyle at parties, it is not the same at all. I knew I had to get them experience in front of a crowd so we began doing talent shows at clubs anywhere and everywhere. This was a huge step back for me. I had been on stage in front of thousands already and had done things that they and many others only dream about. I turned their dreams into realities. We used to rehearse allot and I guess I was very hard headed at times, but I knew what had to be done. We won just about every contest we entered and wound up getting noticed by local radio and labels in the area. We wound up touring with Lil Flip, UGK, Eightball & MJG, 2 Live Crew (my second go round), South Park Mexican, again - too many to name. We was touring and working on the album, "Revolution". We had an In-Store tour set up, nation wide distribution, and a tour planned with Three 6 Mafia, and Lil Kim. All of the promotion was planned out for the album and everything was going well, when again I was betrayed. While out promoting one weekend I got into a fight with another member that I loved like a brother (sometimes brother’s fight). It basically happened because he was taking advantage of my friendship and felt like it was ok to disrespect me. We got in each others face which had never happened before and I really didn't expect that to ever happen. I did push him but only because I could smell his breath and when you are close enough to smell another man's breath that is way too close. He wound up coming back and actually swung at me, so I only did what I had to. A couple of days went by with me not hearing from any of them which were very odd. Then I heard that I was kicked out of the group. The group that I started, funded, and taught the game to. The fight was a mutual fight. Both of us were wrong. I had no problem with anyone else, yet they all turned on me. It was obvious that I was out shining them all, so with me gone they felt they had a better chance as individuals. I had all copy writes to the group name and the material so that forced them to come up with a new name and new material. They fell apart after only a few months. Of course that was to be expected after they did what they did to me. After I was kicked out I kept getting calls from another label that wanted me to sign. We had actually sat down with them as a group but the CEO told me later that he was only interested in me. After hearing the group split they called me at least once a day. I still thought I could reconcile with the group so I kept turning them down, but eventually I realized that it would never be the same anyways and I was a fool to sit around waiting for more disloyalty from them. So I started working with this label and released an underground CD titled "Phaze 1" that sold almost 35,000 on the street alone. I also began work on the album, "Conspiracy Theory". I didn't know that even more drama was right around the corner. The artwork for the cover was complete and we were mastering the album when I had some family issues that slapped me right in the mouth. In an effort to keep my family together we took off to Miami spontaneously. Having come from a broken home I refused to allow my family to continue that pattern of dysfunction. The bad part of it is that it cost me my deal. I did not return for nearly a year. Family has to come first second only to God. I now reside in Victoria, Texas which is in the "Crossroads" of Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christie. I had only been here a few weeks thinking that my music career was over when I met H T Mex with Hustlin' 2 Tha' Top Records. I sat down with H and the label and here we are, "Hustlin' Tha' World One Block At A Time". I thank God for H and the rest of the crew. They have re-inspired me again. I feel that God of course caused us to cross paths for a reason. You can find some of my material on the new compilation cd they are dropping titled, "Tha' Takeover". I am currently working on my new album, "Kingdom of Rhymes", and touring on the hunt for a major deal. I am also producing tracks for various artists as well as my son, Ben A.K.A. Boomer which is going to be hot. This has been a long journey. I have seen allot of good and bad in people, including myself. I have seen allot of pain and seen allot of change, but I am still ready for war. I have adapted to the constant change this style of music is always undergoing with ease. Not many so-called rappers can do that. On top of that I've got some R&B jams that will have the ladies stripping down quick for you fellas, trust me. So I am still here ready to fight in this industry where your friend is your enemy, and your enemy pretends to be down with you. Welcome to my world.....to survive here you must be true to yourself first, and be always aware that things aren't as they may appear. Good luck to you all. I hope you wish me luck as well as I complete my journey through this.......Kingdom Of Rhymes. All Praise Is Due To Allah (God) Mujahid Abdul Ali A.K.A. Boomer