Growth Isn't Guaranteed
Like a Phoenix rising - the story of X-Raided
There are prisoners and then there are people who find themselves in prison.
X-Raided is an artist who falls into the latter category.
Now, this is not to excuse the poor decisions any individual makes as a young kid. Who among us hasn’t made shit decisions as a teenager? Hell, I’m lucky to be alive and probably only avoided incarceration as a result of the color of my skin.
It would be naive to ignore the fact that X-Raided spent 26 years in prison, but this episode isn’t about the artists past; this is about his present and future.
Entering the penal system as a teenager, a person has really only two options:
Stay emotionally and intellectually stunted.
Grow as an individual and a human.
Luckily for society and for music fans everywhere, X-Raided chose the latter. As a result, what was once a life sentence turned into a determinative one - albeit, a lengthy 26 years. From this side of the microphone, the trajectory of X-Raided is one of continued ascension. The man’s career is like a Phoenix that continues to rise.
Over the years, X-Raided has released numerous albums, a large number of them uniquely recorded while incarcerated. Each one of his albums showcase his evolution as an artist and his ability to adapt to changing musical landscapes. His lyrics often address themes of crime, punishment, and redemption. What make him unique is his ability to reflect on his personal experiences and struggles that help to provide the songs with a universality.
X-Raided was released after serving 26 years. And in the ultimate irony, he completed his sentence months before the world went into its own kind of prison - the COVID lockdown. Undeterred, he remained laser-focused on his career as an artist, using his platform to advocate for criminal justice reform, and his continued evolution as a man, mentoring younger people. His resilience and continued relevance in the rap industry make X-Raided an intriguing and influential figure in hip-hop history.
To listen to his catalog is to bear witness to growth. The line from a song like “Who’s the Ho” to “The Sunken Place,” much like life itself - in the joint or not - is not a straight one.
X-Raided’s artistic catalog is a document to the growth of the man and the artist.
I’ve interviewed a host of people by this point and can say with complete confidence that talking with X-Raided is a high watermark.