Ansar El Muhammad (born Ricky Murdock), better known by his stage name Askari X, is a hip-hop artist from

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He has released 3 albums, is on numerous compilation albums, and has been a guest on several albums.

Stic.man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

and M-1 of Dead Prez refer to Askari X in their music and credit him as one of their main musical influences. Askari X advocates Black Power, Black Liberation, and Islam in his lyrics. His sound is characterized by slow drum beats and a verbal flow similar to

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

. Askari X is philosophically aligned with the African People's Socialist Party and the

Uhuru Movement The Uhuru Movement (Pronounced is the Swahili word for "freedom") is an American-based socialist and African internationalist movement founded in 1972 and led by the African People's Socialist Party (APSP), whose chairman is Omali Yeshitela. I ...

. His style may be considered as conscious rap.

Early life

In an autobiographical song titled "Moma" Askari X refers to experiencing domestic abuse against himself and his mother when he was 7 years old. He talks about being unsatisfied with school, experiencing persecution and systematic racism from the school system and the government. When he rebelled against the oppression he experienced in school, the school labeled Askari X as crazy and tried to place him in foster care. Askari X joined the

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 ...

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the ea ...

scene when he was 16 years old. His career started with the rap group the Righteous Black Guerillas (RBG). The neighborhood of 72nd and Lacey Street in Eastmont, Oakland, where some of the RBG crew grew up, was referenced in later Askari X songs. Askari X encountered the

, then Islam as taught by the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

, which began as a prison study group. Both are major influences in his music.

Music career

Askari X co-founded the group Righteous Black Guerillas who released the record ''Ansars'' in 1991. Askari X's first album, "Ward of the State", was released in 1992 while he was incarcerated. He has performed and recorded with

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...

, Rappin Ron & Ant Diddley Dog,

3X Krazy 3X Krazy (pronounced 3-Times Crazy) was an American hip hop group formed in Oakland, California in 1994. The group consisted of members Keak da Sneak, B.A. and Agerman. History Founding 3X Krazy was formed in 1994 and was signed to Str8 Game Rec ...

, Tajai from the

Hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...

, Mr. Ill, The Delinquents, & The Whoridas,

Stic.Man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

of Dead Prez. He has released three solo albums: ''Ward of the State'' with Righteous Records, ''Message to the Black Man'' with Slow Motion Records, and ''Return of Askari X (a.k.a. Ricky Murdock)'' with Success Entertainment. His career started with the Righteous Black Guerillas album Ansars. He co-produced the album by Dead Prez (M1 + stic.man) Presents – ''Get Free Or Die Tryin (Turn Off The Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2)'' Askari X has also appeared in several compilation projects, including the track "Fucked in the Game" on the album "Cell Block Compilation" produced by Cell Block and Priority Records, on the track "Rumble in the Jungle" on the album "Pusha' Man's Compilation" produced by The Road Productions, on the track "Peckerwood, Peckerwood" on the "International Blunt Funk Compilation" produced by In-A-Minute Records and Blunt Funk Records, on the tracks "Street Soldier" and "Rap" on the "Herm - Solo Album" produced by Black Power Productions, and the track "Fuck that P.D." on the album "The Monopolation" produced by Legal Dope Records.

Personal life

In one interview between prison stints, Askari X referred to jail as “the hidden university,” saying that he wrote much of his rap material there. “The solitude gave me time and inspiration to come up with new raps," he said. As for the initial crime he was convicted of, he has always maintained his innocence. "I’m sure it was a set up...The police said that I robbed a bank and was armed, even though I had seven witnesses to prove otherwise," he said to an interviewer in a 1990s interview reiterating the lyrics of "Ward Of The State Pt II." In 2010 and 2011, he was incarcerated at

Folsom State Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabi ...

RBG

Askari X has been credited by some sources as having created the term RBG as an acronym for "Righteous Black Guerillas" before Dead Prez. Askari X first used this meaning for RBG when he co-founded the rap group "Righteous Black Guerillas". Askari X was featured on a number of Dead Prez songs, including "Scared to Die" and the news report "Hood News" which was released on the DP album Get Free Or Die Tryin (Turn Off the Radio (The mixtape vol. 2 )). Dead Prez have credited Askari X in their use of the term RBG and have credited him in numerous tracks, including the track "Hood News" off their album "Get Free Or Die Tryin (Turn Off the Radio (The mixtape vol. 2 ))", saying "And today in the hood news: Where it might not be good news, but it sure is hood news, we ask what's really hood with the lock-down of Oakland RBG emcee Askari X."RBG is also known in this context as "Red, Black, Green", the colors of the flag of the Pan-African Movement, and has many other associated meanings.RBG Communiversity https://www.scribd.com/doc/100733787/RBG-Communiversity-Courses-of-Study-Collections-2012-Summer-Semester Community Courses of Study Collections 2012 Summer Semester viewed July 26, 2012

Discography

Studio albums

EP's

* Title: ''Recorded Live From The State Pen'' ** Year: 1992 ** Format:

Cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Askari X at iHeart Radio website
Rappers from Oakland, California African-American Muslims Muslims from California