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Abdul Ibrahim West (born September 26, 1982), better known by his stage name AR-Ab (also referred to as King AB), is an American rapper from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. He is a member of OBH (Original Block Hustlaz), a rap group he co-founded with frequent collaborator Dark Lo. West is best known for being involved in the Drake-Meek Mill feud, and for the extensive legal troubles he has faced across his career. In 2021, West was sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking. Federal authorities stated that his rap crew and label, OBH, was a gang that partook in drug trafficking, murder, and other crimes across
North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...
.


Biography

Abdul West was born on May 11, 1982, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. West began his career as a battle rapper and went on to become a member of Cassidy's Larsiny Family, appearing as a featured artist on his mixtapes throughout 2007, namely ''07-07-07 (Happy Birthday)'' and ''Put Ya L In The Sky''. He continued working features for artists during this time until the release of his debut mixtape ''Welcome to Trap Street'' on May 1, 2008. In 2008, West and Cassidy appeared on the ''Cocaine City'' street DVD, where the two collaborated on "City of Dreams" alongside a young
French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...
. This would be Ab's first music video before concentrating on his solo career. He released his second mixtape ''I See Dead People'' on January 8, 2009, and his third mixtape ''Allegheny AB'' on May 26, 2010. West began making waves following the release of his fourth mixtape ''Who Harder Than Me'', released on February 13, 2011. In 2012, West began working on his fifth mixtape ''Who Harder Than Me II'', which was released on October 5, 2012. The record included features from fellow Philadelphia rapper
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, and New York rapper and producer
Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...
who had previously worked with Cassidy during the latter's stint with
Ruff Ryders Entertainment Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darrin "Dee" and Chivon Dean in 1988. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Int ...
. The collaboration, during which Swizz Beatz referred to Ab as "most important new artist in rap", prompted speculation whether he would be signed to his label. The following year saw the release of his sixth mixtape ''MUD Musik'' on February 28, 2013. This would be his last release before his latest round of legal trouble which saw West turning himself into authorities and incarcerated in March of that same year. ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' named him one of "15 Unsigned Rappers Who Should Get a Deal After SXSW" in 2013. In 2015, West became involved in the
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
-
Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...
feud after Drake referenced West on his
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...
" Back to Back", where he raps, "I drove here in the Wraith playin' AR-Ab". West later appeared on
VladTV DJ Vlad (born Vladislav Lyubovny, June 28, 1973) is a Ukrainian-American interviewer, journalist, and former DJ. He is the creator of the news website ''VladTV.com''. His namesake YouTube channel hosts interviews of prominent entertainers and cel ...
in August 2015 saying that while he hasn't signed on to Drake's
OVO Sound OVO Sound (short for October's Very Own) is a Canadian independent record label, founded in 2012 by rapper Drake, producer 40, and manager Oliver El-Khatib. The label operated as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group until 2022, after which it ...
and sided with him saying he was disappointed in Mill's response. Mill responded on August 6 during a performance in
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
where he said "Fuck AR-Ab" and questioned his allegiance to an out-of-town rapper. West responded by releasing his own version of "Back to Back" freestyle on August 8 which dissed Mill and also contained violent lyrics where he threatened to unleash his "shooters" upon Mill. In response, Meek's cousin Omelly released his own version of "Back to Back" freestyle which dissed AR-Ab and also contained violent lyrics. West stated he wouldn't respond to Omelly's diss because he's a "worker". In January 2016, West revealed that he and Meek Mill had reconciled. In 2024, West released the
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
''Road to Glory'', presumably containing music recorded before his 2018 incarceration.


Personal life

West grew up in
North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...
. He states in his music that his childhood was marked by
domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...
and
drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
abuse from his father. In late 2010, West and Dark Lo formed their label and rap collective OBH (Original Block Hustlaz), which also includes his brother Lik Moss among other rappers. In 2012, West's grandmother died and his mother died the following month. He describes this as a traumatic moment in his life, having already lost an elder brother prior. West is a practicing Muslim.


Legal issues

West has been embroiled in a spate of legal issues throughout his career, and prior to his involvement in the music industry, including charges related to drug trafficking, possession, and violent crimes. According to interviews, he has served time in jail on four separate occasions prior to his most-recent 2013 sentencing related to
crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
.


2005 homicide case

In 2005, West was one of three men wanted by police in connection to an April 15 shooting that left one man dead and two others injured. Prominent rapper Cassidy was the main suspect, with Ab and a third unidentified man being wanted as accomplices. In a December 3, 2008, interview with PhillyHeatTV, AR-Ab revealed he was found "not guilty", having spent two years fighting the case. Cassidy had surrendered to Philadelphia police on the afternoon of June 17, 2005. The case took a turn when the primary witness withdrew his confession. On January 25, 2006, Cassidy was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime for his involvement in the shooting. He was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison plus probation, and was credited with the 7 months he had already served. He was released after serving 8 months in prison, and went on to relaunch the Larsiny Family which included then-member AR-Ab.


2011 shootings

During an incident late-September 2011, West survived being shot ten times. A tweet dated September 24, 2011, showed a bandaged West lying in bed recuperating with the caption "10 shots couldn't stop me!!!" A previous Tweet confirmed he was in the hospital receiving treatment. He is reported to have suffered two shots to the stomach, two to the hand, five to the glutes and one shot to the thigh.


2013 prison sentence

On April 13, 2013, media outlets reported on a tweet from rapper AR-Ab referring to a past crime which caught up to him. "3 years ago I got caught up in a big drug trafficking raid, it just caught up to me. Now I gottta pay da price. I'm doing my final show tonite", claimed the tweet. Speculations were abound whether he would be going to jail soon. On April 26, videographer Gil Videos uploaded a video with Ab revealing he will be turning himself in to the authorities. Following his prison sentence, music videos from AR-Ab and OBH members prominently featured the "Free AR-Ab" slogan, and urged fans to write to Abdul West while he's in prison. He was released on parole in November 2014, having served 18 months. According to interviews, Ab was booked for charges related to
crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
and faced up to 3 years, which was hastened to 18 months through his participation in the boot camp program.


2018 drug trafficking and conspiracy

In October 2018, West, alongside eight others said to be members of a
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
organization, were indicted on charges of distributing drugs in North Philadelphia. His charges include a conspiracy to distribute, the possession, and the distribution of cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, and heroin. The indictment identified West as the leader of the gang, and that the gang obtained high-end properties in Philadelphia to protect their supply. Lyrics and social media posts made by West and his affiliates were used by authorities in their case against him and his gang, which authorities identified as his rap crew and label, the Original Block Hustlaz. Authorities stated that OBH was a drug dealing gang led by West. On November 19, 2019, West was found guilty of several counts of conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in his federal conspiracy case. While awaiting sentencing, he was allegedly attacked and stabbed in prison in 2020. On April 15, 2021, West was sentenced to 45 years in prison. His final OBH co-defendant was sentenced in October of that year.


Discography

;Mixtapes * ''Welcome to Trapstreet'' (2008) * ''I See Dead People'' (2009) * ''Allegheny AB'' (2010) * ''Who Harder Than Me'' (2011) * ''Who Harder Than Me II'' (2012) * ''Mud Musik'' (2013) * ''Mud Musik II'' (2015) * ''Who Harder Than Me III (2016) * ''Protocol Vol 1'' (2017) * ''Protocol Vol 2'' (2017) * ''Protocol Vol 3'' (2017) * ''Protocol Vol 4'' (2018) * ''Road to Glory (2024)''


Filmography

* Next Day Air (2009)


References


External links

* {{authority control 1982 births Living people African-American Muslims 21st-century African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers East Coast hip-hop musicians American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Pennsylvania Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians American people convicted of drug offenses 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Muslims from Pennsylvania