Professor X

As a member of the fiercely polemical hip-hop collective <a href="spotify:artist:0UbkL4O5WmWWH8RZOweBZK">X-Clan</a>, Professor X spearheaded rap music's embrace of Black Nationalist politics, later continuing his activism with a series of solo efforts. The son of Civil Rights' pioneer Sonny Carson, Professor X was born Lumumba Carson in Brooklyn in 1956. As a child, he met <a href="spotify:artist:2IsulP0BplLNJn8BGsvUQo">Malcolm X</a> and regularly accompanied his father in traveling to political rallies both at home and abroad. But as a teen, Carson drifted into gang life, and was shot, stabbed, and imprisoned before re-dedicating his life to politics, vowing to introduce his father's principles into hip-hop. Carson first entered the music business as a promoter for rappers like <a href="spotify:artist:4dBOV77d0Fy9KcTZkieXcu">Whodini</a>. Some years older than the artists he mentored, he eventually dubbed himself Professor X in honor of the brilliant guru leading comic book heroes the X-Men. In 1988 Professor X teamed with Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson "Brother J" (born Jason Hunter), the Rhythem Provider "Sugar Shaft" (Anthony Hardin), and Grand Architect "Paradise" (Claude Grey) to found the Brooklyn-based <a href="spotify:artist:0UbkL4O5WmWWH8RZOweBZK">X-Clan</a>. Clad in medallions and traditional Black Nationalist gear, <a href="spotify:artist:0UbkL4O5WmWWH8RZOweBZK">X-Clan</a> immediately served notice that their music would serve to educate and uplift listeners of all races and creeds. Professor X was the group's sage, spouting his signature lyric "Vainglorious! This is protected by the red, the black, and the green with a key, sissy!" on several cuts on their acclaimed 1990 debut LP, To the East, Blackwards. The album fell just shy of the R&B Top Ten, as did its 1992 follow-up, Xodus. In the interim, Professor X issued his debut solo effort, Years of the 9, On the Blackhand Side, and after <a href="spotify:artist:0UbkL4O5WmWWH8RZOweBZK">X-Clan</a> dissolved, he resurfaced in 1993 with Puss 'n Boots (The Struggle Continues...). As the rise of gangsta rap cast conscious hip-hop to the commercial margins, Professor X channeled his energies into more traditional activist pursuits, co-founding the Black Muslim group Blackwatch. Amid rumors of an <a href="spotify:artist:0UbkL4O5WmWWH8RZOweBZK">X-Clan</a> reunion, Professor X died of complications from spinal meningitis on March 17, 2006. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi