my lil devil!!

kitty wu got one so now so do I!! see it's a compatition hahaha!!!
This is my article off of eldiablito.com. re-copyed in it's entirety. Shout out to the homie Senyor Cullera for writing an article that makes me sound interesting. much appreciated!! Best christmas ever. haha. NOW READ!


From the Maroon Colony to solo debut Mi Vida Negra through his contributions through Absynnian Creole (nee Ab-Knights), on to his latest opus, From Slaveships to Spaceships; the Dominicano/Haitian rapper, Khingz has been pushing forward with artistry and intelligence to places rarely breached by people with such talent and delivery.

While many people would agree with the cause and beliefs of Khingz, formerly Khalil Crisis (Born Khalil Equiano), the majority of those rappers/singers/activists which take up the social causes which Khingz espouses are not nearly as talented; nor do they have an interesting a story. Whether it was when his ancestors were brought over as human chattel to work on the island of Hispaniola or when his family came to the United States, struggle has never been something to set them back. Khingz still fights back against the effect of colonization and slavery. Although not physically in chains, the battle is now in mind and spirit.

As Khingz explains it, the challenge is now to overcome the mentality brought about as the Europeans “taught us we where in no way equal to those who oppressed us.” Just as the people in Mexico are proud to represent La Raza, Khingz is quick to represent his culture proudly, teaching his fellows that theirs is just as valuable and vibrant as any other.

Bespectacled, and polite with a smile, Equiano does not carry himself with the stereotypical angry revolutionary ways. Instead he is focused on empowerment along with finding ways to overcome “the legacy of poverty and disempowerment that comes with having the resources of your people taken away.” Such has not always been a positive effort, when Khalil had not yet earned his crown.

“As a youth my self hate was aimed outward to other folks (who looked just like me but wore a different color or lived on the other side of town) and in some ways violence against them was violence against myself which didn't bother me because I hated my self.”

As he grew in time, Equiano realized that behaving in such ways was counter-productive. He formed the hip-hop crew Maroon Colony and turned his rage in other ways. He became one of the most accomplished and recognized battle MCs this side of Alpha P. Facing down nationwide competition in the Brainstorm Battle, Khalil was the first champion of the esteemed event.

Through forming Absynnian Creole with Ethiopian-American spoken word artist/hip-hop poet Gabriel Teodros, Khingz was able to round out his game. Being able to meld well with the South Seattle neighborhoods of his upbringing, the Latin roots and power and soul of his African ancestry has turned Khingz into a dynamo. While some artists would be proud to be classified as being similar to another pop radio entity, Khingz proudly displays who he is; an original.

To borrow a turn-of-phrase from collaborator Teodros, Khingz is a “cultural chameleon” who can be successful in many different arenas of urban music because he is authentic while still not allowing himself to settle for the status quo. Indeed, we have seen him (and his people) grow up from Slaveships to Spaceships; Khingz is headed to another level of invention that Gene Roddenberry never imagined.

Khingz.com

Por Lo Senyor Cullera

Go see Khingz this Christmas Night as he rocks the party with Santa Claus at Seattle Hip-Hop monthly, The Corner.

*SANTA CLAUS
*KHINGZ
*ORBITRON
*JARV DEE (W/B.A.Y.B. & CLOUDNICE)
*DJ NANINO

THE RENDEZVOUS
2322 2ND AVE(BELLTOWN)

21+ $5 10P
myspace.com/thecorner206
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