Anerae Veshaughn Brown (born July 30, 1974), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

X-Raided, is an American rapper from

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In 1992, Brown was sentenced to 31 years in prison on murder charges, which Brown denied, maintaining his innocence. The lyrics of his debut album, '' Psycho Active'', was submitted as evidence by the prosecutors. Subsequently, Brown continued to record rap songs in prison, until being released on parole 26 years into his sentence. He was later signed with Strange Music.

Biography

Brown was raised by his mother, Shirley James 'Jaz' Brown, a clerk at the

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is t ...

courthouse. Brown subsequently joined the 24th Street Garden Blocc

Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the Coastal California, coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially ...

. In 1992, Brown released his debut album, '' Psycho Active'', before being arrested in March with four other Crips for the killing of Patricia Harris during a

home invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching i ...

, with the prosecution citing Brown's lyrics in his trial, accusing Brown of premeditated murder. The weapon that was used to kill Harris was never found, and Brown maintains that he is innocent. Brown's second album, '' Xorcist'', was recorded over the phone while he was in jail awaiting trial. He was later sentenced to 31 years in prison. His third album, '' Unforgiven'', was recorded on a DAT recorder smuggled in by a prison guard. Brown also operated a record label, Bloc Star Entertainment from prison. The recordings Brown made while in prison documented the maturation of Brown's psychological development as he processed the gravity of his imprisonment. In 2010, Brown was stabbed seven times during a prison riot by inmates affiliated with the Northern Riders gang, in retaliation after Brown had refused to record a rap album for them. Brown was paroled on September 14, 2018 after serving 26 years in prison, due to a letter of support from

Lyle and Erik Menendez Joseph Lyle Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menendez (born November 27, 1970) are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise ("Kitty") Menéndez. During the trial, the Me ...

, whom Brown had befriended in prison, who wrote that Brown "has developed into a kind and patient person, rooted in integrity, and passionate about his ideas." Brown expressed remorse for his past criminal activity, and expressed the intention leading a new life as a changed man, as well as marking a change in his career and lyrical style. After being released from prison, Brown signed with

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a Music publisher (popular music), music publisher and a rec ...

. In 2022, Brown signed with Strange Music.

Style and influences

Brown, reflecting on his early music, described his younger self as a "stereotypical rapper" that was "trying to be the toughest, hardest guy, writing a lot of fantastical music in the vein of the

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, ear ...

." Steve "Flash" Juon, retrospectively reviewing Brown's debut for RapReviews, described Brown's lyrics as "decent yet unremarkable boasting". Brown cited N.W.A and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

as his influences at this stage in his career. After his incarceration, Brown's lyrical influences shifted to

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

and

W.E.B. DuBois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

Discography

Solo albums

* '' Psycho Active'' (1992) * '' Xorcist'' (1995) * '' Unforgiven'' (1999) * ''Speak of the Devil'' (2000) as Nefarious * '' Vengeance Is Mine'' (2000) * '' The Initiation'' (2001) * ''And He Shall Appear'' (2001) * ''Deadly Game'' (2002) * ''These Walls Can Talk'' (2002) * ''The Unforgiven Vol. 2: Assisted Suicide'' (2009) * ''Unforgiven Vol. 3: Vindication'' (2011) * ''Sacramentally Disturbed'' (2012) * ''Psychoactive 2'' (2014) * ''Aneraé VeShaughn – The Execution Of X-Raided'' (2018) * ''California Dreamin'' (2019) * '' There Will Be a Storm'' (2020) * ''A Prayer in Hell'' (2022)

Collaboration albums

* ''City of Kings'' with Kingpen (2002) * ''Ignition'' with Loki (2007) * ''Bloc Bizniz'' with Bloc Star (2010) * ''Family Matters'' with Luni Coleone (2021)

Compilation albums

* '' X-Ology: The Best of X-Raided'' (2001) * ''The X-Filez, Vol. 1'' (2003) * ''The X-Filez, Vol. 2'' (2004) * ''The X-Filez, Vol. 3'' (2005) * ''The Unforgiven Vol. 2.5: Assisted Suicide ollector's Edition' (2010)

Mixtapes

* ''Sacrifice Mixtape'' (2012) * ''Psychotic Activity'' (2014)

Extended plays

* ''Niggaz In Black'' (1991) * ''The Eternally Unforgiven Project'' (2009) * ''A Gun With a Body on It'' with Smigg Dirtee (2015)

References

External links

*
X-Raided
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1970s births Living people 20th-century American criminals 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers American male criminals American male rappers American people convicted of murder Crime in California Criminals from California Crips Gangsta rappers People convicted of murder by California Rappers from Sacramento, California Underground rappers Place of birth missing (living people)