James "Husalah" Ratliff (born May 13, 1979), is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

from Pittsburg,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He began his career with the Pittsburg group the

Mob Figaz Mob Figaz is a Bay Area hip hop group formed by C-Bo in 1997. The members consist of Husalah, Rydah J. Klyde, and The Jacka from Pittsburg; Fed-X from Richmond; and AP.9 from Oakland, California. Their first album, ''C-Bo's Mob Figaz'', was a ...

, whose first album, ''C-Bo's Mob Figaz'', was released in 1999. Like his late close friend

The Jacka Dominick Newton (August 12, 1977 – February 2, 2015), better known by his stage name The Jacka, was an American rapper from Pittsburg, California. The Jacka began his career as part of the rap group Mob Figaz. He was killed in a shooting in O ...

, Husalah is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and frequently references Islam in his lyrics. He has released three solo studio albums (''Dope, Guns and Religion'', ''Hustlin’ Since the ‘80s'', and ''The H''), as well as numerous group projects.

Career

Husalah began his career with the Pittsburg-based group Mob Figaz. Their first album, ''

C-Bo's Mob Figaz ''C-Bo's Mob Figaz'' is the debut studio album by American West Coast hip hop supergroup Mob Figaz. It was released on May 18, 1999 via West Coast Mafia Records/Git Paid Entertainmant. Production was handled by Kezo, Lev Berlak, One Drop Scott, ...

'', was released in 1999 and was a minor hit on the Billboard Hip Hop charts, entering in at #63. The album sold fairly well, selling 60,000 units. His first solo album, entitled ''Dope, Guns, and Religion'', was released in 2006 and was one of the most highly anticipated

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

hip-hop albums of the time. Husalah has collaborated with many respected and noteworthy rappers, including

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...

Cormega Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was re ...

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, the late

Mac Dre Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy The term hyphy ( ) is Oakland slang meaning "h ...

, Andre Nickatina,

Keak Da Sneak Charles Kente Williams (Birth name, né Bowens; born October 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Keak da Sneak, is an American rapper from Oakland, California, Oakland, California, known for his scratchy, gruff voice and for coining the ter ...

, Lil B The Based God,

Yukmouth Jerold Dwight Ellis III (born October 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Yukmouth, is an American rapper from East Oakland, Oakland, California. He is the founder of The Regime, Smoke-A-Lot Records and Godzilla Entertainment. He is a mem ...

Clyde Carson Clyde Nyle Kalin Carson Parrish (born June 2, 1981), better known by the stage name Clyde Carson, is an American rapper from Oakland, California. He was originally known as a member of the hip hop group The Team. After the group went on hiatus ...

, and Roach Gigz, among others.

Discography

Solo albums

Studio albums

* 2007: ''Huslin Since Da 80's'' * 2018: ''H''

Mixtapes

* 2006: ''Dope, Guns & Religion'' * 2010: ''Tha Furly Ghost Vol. 3''

Collaborative albums

With Mob Figaz

* 1999: ''

With Mob Figaz alumni

* 2002: ''Camp Mob Figaz: The Street Soundtrack'' (with various) * 2003: ''Mob Figaz'' * 2005: ''3 Da Hard Way'' (with

& Marvaless) * 2006: ''Animal Planet'' (with The Jacka) * 2006: ''Mob Trial'' (with AP.9 & The Jacka) * 2007: ''Without My 5'' (with AP.9)

Additional collaborations

* 2007: ''Explosive Mode 3: The Mob Gets Explosive '' (with The Jacka,

Messy Marv Marvin Watson Jr. (born March 19, 1976), better known by his stage name Messy Marv, is an American rapper who began his career in the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. Messy was also known as a collaborator in the rap group Kaalman ...

San Quinn Quincy Brooks IV (born October 24, 1977), better known by his stage name San Quinn, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He is the cousin of Messy Marv, Stevie Johnson, and Ya Boy. Early life Brooks was born in Oakland, Califor ...

) * 2008: ''The Tonka Boyz'' (with B-Luv) (R&B #57 / Heatseekers #49) * 2014 ''Tortoise and the Hare'' (with Blanco & Kokane)

Guest Appearances

*2001. "Target Practice" (with

Earl Haze Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

, Kozi &

) on ( The Jacka Of The Mob Figaz) *2010. "Lightweight Jammin'" (with

, &

on ( Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift) *2016. "This Goin' Up" (with

, &

Turf Talk Turf Talk (born Demar Bernstine in Vallejo, California), is a Bay Area rapper involved with the hyphy movement. He is a cousin of Bay Area rapper E-40, and is signed to his record label Sick Wid It Records. (Source needed). Growing Up Turf Talk ...

) on ( The D-Boy Diary: Book 2)

References

External links

Husalah
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Husalah James "Husalah" Ratliff (born May 13, 1979), is an American rapper from Pittsburg, California. He began his career with the Pittsburg group the Mob Figaz, whose first album, ''C-Bo's Mob Figaz'', was released in 1999. Like his late close frie ...

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

1979 births Living people African-American rappers African-American Muslims Mob Figaz members People from Pittsburg, California Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people {{US-hiphop-bio-stub