Bruce David Sandlin (March 6, 1979 – July 4, 2007), better known by his stage name X1, was an American rapper best known in the 1990s as a member of Gang Green and affiliated with

Onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

Early life

X1 was born on March 6, 1979, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His family lived on 1088 Bushwick Ave. A year later he moved to

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

with his parents. When he was 16 he was selling drugs in the corners of Queens trying to get rich quick. But he realized that this was not the way to achieve success. Hip-hop became a part of his life when he began performing freestyles in public and at his school.

Career

One day Bruce met some teenagers from his neighborhood and formed a group that included in addition to him, Dez (who later changed his name to Still Livin), Chop, Cyph Certified and Whosane the younger brother of

Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay o ...

. That is when he created a nickname X1. The guys rapping at the intersection of 131st Street and Rockaway Blvd. in front of Kennedy Fried Chicken that is where they were discovered by the popular hip-hop group Onyx which immediately invited them to the studio. The name of the group Gang Green appeared from the lines of Fredro Starr. Onyx signed them to their own label Armee Records which was distributed by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. Soon Gang Green released their first single I'll Murder You produced by Fredro Starr. The B-side contains a remix recorded with Onyx. The excerpt from this remix was on the second album of Onyx

All We Got Iz Us All We Got Iz Us is the second studio album by American hip hop group Onyx (hip hop group), Onyx, released on October 24, 1995, by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels. The album was produced by Onyx. The album features guest appearances from r ...

. Then the group made a video for the song which was in rotation on local TV channels including the Video Music Box. Then followed interviews and concerts including

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

and The Tunnel. Over time Gang Green gained more knowledge, connections and experience in the music industry. X1 and Still Livin' together took part in the video for the Onyx's song React, where the then-unknown

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

also took part. Gang Green also attended the studio while Onyx recorded songs including Evil Streets Remix studio session with

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

in 1994. Unreleased songs by X1 and his group were released only after many years on Onyx's collections, '' Cold Case Files: Vol. 1'' and '' Cold Case Files: Vol. 2''. They were popular in their neighborhood but for some reason the labels were not interested in them. Every record label they brought their demos to asked Who's that one kid???" meaning X1. Onyx quickly learned about this and took the X1 on board. X1 immediately took part in the recording of three albums by Onyx: '' Shut 'Em Down'', '' Bacdafucup: Part II'' and '' Triggernometry'', and in the recording of

and

Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American rapper, record producer and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam Master Ja ...

's solo albums. After taking part in the recording of Onyx's third album ''Shut 'Em Down'' and touring with them, X1 focused on his solo career leaving Onyx but still on good terms with them he later on helped them with there solo projects. In 2000 X1 signed to the label of

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

Tyson Records. A year after that the label did not quite take off the way X1 expected so he then went and signed a new deal with California record company Ball'R Records which had a roster consisting of three acts:

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Career Solo After finding success with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Krayzie Bone recorded his so ...

, The Relativez and X1. The label ended folded before X1 could release some. Then X1 signed to the label Dynasty Records (based out of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

) where he was due to release his debut album ''Young, Rich and Gangsta'' on September 19, 2006.

Death

X1 was found dead in his Las Vegas home on July 4, 2007. His friends believe that he was killed and that his death was staged as a suicide during an Independence Day firework display. The cause of death is still unknown. It is known that during his life Bruce always carried a weapon. X1 was found dead by his recently divorced ex-wife fashion designer Angel Brinks, following a short 3 month marriage. X1's ex wife, who was 9 months pregnant at the time said he committed suicide after she said something horrible to him. His first wife Baby Vasquez who he was married to for 4 years as shown in public records, had X1's first son Justyle Sandlin. Baby has vocalized questions regarding his alleged suicide saying she believes he could have been set up. Nevada public records show X1 was not married at the time of his death yet Angel lied on record claiming they were married at the time of his death which has been proven false information. Angel says, my son's father committed suicide when I was 9 months pregnant. I found him and I couldn't really enjoy the birth of my son, but mourn a loss of my husband at the time." He was 28 years old. Hip-hop website AllHipHop.com was the first to write about the rapper's death. The article came out with the headline "Sticky Fingaz Brother/Rapper X1 Found Dead In Las Vegas." On July 19, 2007, Bruce’s second son was born. As of now, X1's sons have not yet met.

Discography

Albums

* ''Young, Rich and Gangsta'' (2006)

Mixtapes

* ''It’s a New Era Vol.1'' (2005) * ''It’s a New Era Vol.2'' (2005) * ''The Connect'' (with DJ Snake Eyes) (2007)

Soundtracks

* ''

A Day in the Life "A Day in the Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the final track of their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the opening and closing sections of the s ...

'' (2009)

Singles

* ''I'll Murder You'' (with Gang Green) (1995) * ''Everywhere We Go" (feat.

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born 3 March 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. Raised in Houston, Texas, he began his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before signing with the local record label Sucka ...

) (2006)

Filmography

Videos

* ''I'll Murder You'' (with Gang Green) (1995) * ''Walk in New York'' (with Onyx) (1995) * ''Broke Willies'' (with Onyx) (1998) * '' React'' (feat.

, Bonifucco and Still Livin, with Onyx) * '' Shut 'Em Down'' (feat. DMX, with Onyx) * '' The Worst'' (feat.

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

and Killa Sin, with Onyx) * ''Everywhere We Go'' (feat. Lil' Flip) (2006)

Films

* ''Def Jam Survival of the Illest — Live from 125 N.Y.C.'' (1998) * ''Onyx: 15 Years of Videos, History and Violence'' (2008) * ''A Day in the Life'' (2009)

References

External links

* *
X1 on MySpace

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:X1 1979 births 2007 deaths 2007 suicides African-American male rappers Rappers from Queens, New York African-American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) Rappers from Brooklyn 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Brooklyn Male actors from Queens, New York Hardcore hip-hop artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Suicides in Nevada 20th-century American songwriters