Abedah Ritchie (born Kristin Nicole Ritchie; May 6, 1986) is a former

nerdcore Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 2000 ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, better known by the

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 ...

MC Router. In 2009 she worked in the Netherlands under the new stage name Krisje before leaving hip hop altogether. Ritchie later converted to

Islam 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 ...

, changing her given name to Abedah, and became a translator.

Hip hop career

Ritchie, as the self-proclaimed "First Lady of Nerdcore", founded the group "1337 g33k b34t" with friend Tanner Brown (a.k.a. "T-Byte") in 2004. Although the two are still friends and occasionally collaborate musically, the group disbanded in late 2006 to leave each of them to perform as solo acts. Late 2006 also marked the birth of "Tri-forc3", a joint effort between MC Router, Beefy, and Shael Riley. As year 2007 began, Router released another new track entitled ''Trekkie Pride'', which is known as "The First Nerdcore Song of 2007".

Conversion to Islam

Ritchie converted to Islam and changed her given name from Kristin to Abedah, which means "Worshiper of God" in Arabic, sometime shortened to "Abby". She said in an interview with Muglatte that before Islam she was a Christian but never took religion seriously. She also said that she converted to Islam because she found logic in it. On March 3, 2014, she appeared on the Dr. Phil show with her mother, Darlene, who was concerned about her daughter's new Islamic beliefs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Router, Mc 1986 births Muslims from Texas 21st-century American women rappers Living people Nerdcore artists Rappers from Texas 21st-century American rappers American expatriates in the Netherlands American former Christians Converts to Islam from Christianity