Bruce David Sandlin (March 6, 1979 – July 4, 2007), better known by his stage name X1, was an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

best known in the 1990s as a member of Gang Green and affiliated with

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

Early life

X1 was born on March 6, 1979, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. His family lived on 1088 Bushwick Ave. A year later he moved to

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

with his parents. When he was 16 he was selling drugs in the corners of Queens trying to get rich quick. But he realized that this was not the way to achieve success. Hip-hop became a part of his life when he began performing freestyles in public and at his school.

Career

One day Bruce met some teenagers from his neighborhood and formed a group that included in addition to him, Dez (who later changed his name to Still Livin), Chop, Cyph Certified and Whosane the younger brother of

Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay of ...

. That is when he created a nickname X1. The guys rapping at the intersection of 131st Street and Rockaway Blvd. in front of

Kennedy Fried Chicken Kennedy Fried Chicken and Crown Fried Chicken are common restaurant names primarily in the New York–New Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware and Baltimore areas of the United States, but also in nearby smaller cities or towns along the Northeastern ...

that is where they were discovered by the popular hip-hop group

which immediately invited them to the studio. The name of the group Gang Green appeared from the lines of Fredro Starr. Onyx signed them to their own label Armee Records which was distributed by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

and

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. Soon Gang Green released their first single I'll Murder You produced by Fredro Starr. The B-side contains a remix recorded with Onyx. The excerpt from this remix was on the second album of Onyx

All We Got Iz Us All We Got Iz Us is the second album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on October 24, 1995 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels. The album was produced by Onyx. The album features guest appearances from rap group All City and rappe ...

. Then the group made a video for the song which was in rotation on local TV channels including the

Video Music Box ''Video Music Box'' is an American music television program. The series is the first to feature hip hop videos primarily, and was created in 1983 by Ralph McDaniels and Lionel C. Martin, who also serve as the series' hosts. It aired on the New Y ...

. Then followed interviews and concerts including

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a n ...

and

The Tunnel ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

. Over time Gang Green gained more knowledge, connections and experience in the music industry. X1 and Still Livin' together took part in the video for the Onyx's song

React REACT or React may refer to: Science and technology * REACT (telescope), a telescope at Fenton Hill Observatory, New Mexico, US Computing * React (JavaScript library) , a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, from Facebook ** React Nat ...

, where the then-unknown

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

also took part. Gang Green also attended the studio while Onyx recorded songs including Evil Streets Remix studio session with

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

in 1994. Unreleased songs by X1 and his group were released only after many years on Onyx's collections, '' Cold Case Files: Vol. 1'' and '' Cold Case Files: Vol. 2''. They were popular in their neighborhood but for some reason the labels were not interested in them. Every record label they brought their demos to asked Who's that one kid???" meaning X1. Onyx quickly learned about this and took the X1 on board. X1 immediately took part in the recording of three studio albums by Onyx: '' Shut 'Em Down'', '' Bacdafucup: Part II'' and ''

Triggernometry Triggernometry could refer to: * ''Triggernometry'' (podcast), a British podcast * ''Triggernometry'' (album), an album by Onyx {{Disambiguation ...

'', and in the recording of

and

Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...

's solo albums. After taking part in the recording of Onyx's album ''Shut 'Em Down'' and touring with them, X1 focused on his solo career leaving Onyx but still on good terms with them he later on helped them with there solo projects. In 2000 X1 signed to the label of

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

Tyson Records. A year after that the label did not quite take off the way X1 expected so he then went and signed a new deal with California record company Ball'R Records which had a roster consisting of three acts:

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Personal life Henderson comes from a fourth generation fami ...

, The Relativez and X1. The label ended folded before X1 could release some. Then X1 signed to the label Dynasty Records (based out of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

) where he was due to release his debut album ''Young, Rich and Gangsta'' on September 19, 2006.

Death

X1 was found dead in his Las Vegas home on July 4, 2007. His friends believe that he was killed and that his death was staged as a suicide during an Independence Day firework display. The cause of death is still unknown. It is known that during his life Bruce always carried a weapon. X1 was found dead by his recently divorced ex-wife fashion designer Angel Brinks, following a short 3 month marriage. X1's ex wife, who was 9 months pregnant at the time said he committed suicide after she said something horrible to him. His first wife Baby Vasquez who he was married to for 4 years as shown in public records, had X1's first son Justyle Sandlin. Baby has vocalized questions regarding his alleged suicide saying she believes he could have been set up. Nevada public records show X1 was not married at the time of his death yet Angel lied on record claiming they were married at the time of his death which has been proven false information. Angel says, my son's father committed suicide when I was 9 months pregnant. I found him and I couldn't really enjoy the birth of my son, but mourn a loss of my husband at the time." He was 28 years old. Hip-hop website

AllHipHop.com AllHipHop is a hip hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998. History The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artists on ...

was the first to write about the rapper's death. The article came out with the headline "Sticky Fingaz Brother/Rapper X1 Found Dead In Las Vegas." On July 19, 2007, Bruce’s second son was born. As of now, X1's sons have not yet met.

Discography

Albums

* ''Young, Rich and Gangsta'' (2006)

Mixtapes

* ''It’s a New Era Vol.1'' (2005) * ''It’s a New Era Vol.2'' (2005) * ''The Connect'' (with DJ Snake Eyes) (2007)

Soundtracks

* '' A Day in the Life'' (2009)

Singles

* ''I'll Murder You'' (with Gang Green) (1995) * ''Everywhere We Go" (feat.

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

) (2006)

Filmography

Videos

* ''I'll Murder You'' (with Gang Green) (1995) * ''Walk in New York'' (with Onyx) (1995) * ''Broke Willies'' (with Onyx) (1998) * ''

'' (feat.

, Bonifucco and Still Livin, with Onyx) * '' Shut 'Em Down'' (feat.

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

, with Onyx) * ''

The Worst The Worst or Worst may refer to: * ''The Worst'', a 1997 album by Sarcófago, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2000 album by Tech N9ne, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2004 EP by Lower Class Brats Lower Class Brats are a street p ...

'' (feat.

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...

and

Killa Sin Jeryl Grant (born April 2, 1976) better known by his stage name Killa Sin is considered the best-known member of Killarmy and is regarded as one of the most skilled Wu-Tang Clan affiliates. Biography ''Killa Sin'' has appeared on gold and platin ...

, with Onyx) * ''Everywhere We Go'' (feat. Lil' Flip) (2006)

Films

* ''Def Jam Survival of the Illest — Live from 125 N.Y.C.'' (1998) * ''Onyx: 15 Years of Videos, History and Violence'' (2008) * ''A Day in the Life'' (2009)

References

External links

* *
X1 on MySpace

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:X1 1979 births 2007 deaths 2007 suicides African-American male actors African-American male rappers American male rappers Rappers from Queens, New York African-American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) Rappers from Brooklyn 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New York City Hardcore hip hop artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Suicides in Nevada 20th-century American songwriters