Rasheed A. Bell (born September 17, 1973), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Rachid, is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. He is the son of founding Kool & the Gang member Ronald Bell.Kool & The Gang's Ronald 'Khalis' Bell Dead At 68
BET. Retrieved on May 1, 2025

Early life

Rachid was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, to Tia Sinclair Bell, a singer-songwriter in local band Coronava, and Ronald Bell, a co-founding member of R&B/

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band Kool & the Gang. He has nine other siblings: Kahdijah, Nadirah, Liza, Maryam, Aminah, Jennah, Khalis, Asia, and James. Raised in Hillside, New Jersey, he is a graduate of

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

in Bronxville, New York.

Career

On June 16, 1998, Rachid released his debut solo album ''Prototype'' on

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

.Rachid - Prototype (Overview)
AllMusic. Retrieved on May 1, 2025 The album's lead single "

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

", released in February 1998, peaked at number 33 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine's US

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart and number 89 on the UK Singles Chart.Rachid UK Official Chart History
Official Charts. Retrieved on May 1, 2025 In early 2007, Rachid changed his stage name to Rasalus, a name he credited to abandoning his

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

religion. Rasalus released an extended play titled ''My Name is Rasalus'', exclusively in Germany. From 2013 to 2019, he performed the under the stage name "Râ" and released a series of singles: "Whatever It Takes" (2018), "Fade Away" (2019), and "Too Late" (2019). In 2023, he returned to using his stage name Rachid.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{AllMusic, class=artist, id=mn0000861754, label=Rachid 1979 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American keyboardists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American keyboardists African-American male singer-songwriters African-American pianists African-American record producers African-American rock musicians African-American rock singers American contemporary R&B singers American funk keyboardists American funk singers American male pianists American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American pop keyboardists American pop pianists American rhythm and blues keyboardists American rhythm and blues singers American rock keyboardists American rock pianists American rock singers American rock songwriters American soul keyboardists American soul singers American tenors Androgynous people Artists from New Jersey Musicians from Union County, New Jersey People from Hillside, New Jersey Progressive soul musicians Record producers from New Jersey Sarah Lawrence College alumni Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Universal Music Group artists Living people