(AllHipHop News) This year legendary Hip-Hop group X-Clan celebrates two decades since its inception in 1990.
X-Clan’s founding members Jason “Grand Verbalizer Funkin-Lesson Brother J” Hunter and Paradise “The Architect” Gray told AllHipHop.com that they are in the planning stages of a new CD, a book and a tour.
The forthcoming album is something Paradise has looked forward to for some time.
“I haven’t made beats for any other group I’ve worked with since X-Clan,” Paradise told AllHipHop.com. “It’s sacred.”
X-Clan was known for its distinctive brand of revolutionary Hip-Hop. The group released two critically acclaimed albums To the East, Blackwards (1990) and Xodus (1992).
Singles like “Heed the Word of the Brother,” “Funkin’ Lesson” and “Grand Verbalizer What Time is It?” introduced the world to Brother J and the collective’s Pan-Africanism theories, over Hip-Hop tracks.
“We didn’t have an MC, we had Brother J the Grand Verbalizer. We didn’t have a DJ, we had Suga Shaft the Rhythm Provider. We didn’t have a manager, we had Professor X the Overseer. And instead of a producer, we had Paradise the Architect,” recounted Paradise. “We created our own vocabulary.”
The group was founded during Paradise’s stint as manager of the storied “Latin Quarters” Hip-Hop club in Times Square.
At the same time, he was a founding member of the Blackwatch Movement.
“Blackwatch came first,” Paradise recalled, referencing his influential street movement which preceded X-Clan. “Blackwatch had marches 50,000 people deep with black boots on, we held Brooklyn Bridge hostage for 5 hours one time.”
Paradise took Brother J and Suga Shaft to a studio owned by Ced Gee, of the Ultramagnetic Emcees, who helped them put together the first X-Clan demo in 1990.
After hearing the recording Professor X agreed to join the group. Suga Shaft passed away in 1995 from complications related to AIDS, while Professor X, the son of Sonny Carson, passed away in 2006 from complications related to spiral meningitis.
Paradise currently manages the music career of Jasiri X, who’s album American History X was released in December.
For a free download of Jasiri X’s AHX CD, click here: http://usershare.net/5901zjv41jr1