Rapper Ras Kass was born John Austin IV in Watts, California but grew up in Carson. A voracious reader throughout his youth, he adopted his stage name in honor of Ethiopian emperor Ras Kassa Mercha. He’s worked with some of the Greatest artists and producers from Dr Dre, Dj Premier, KRS1, The Rza, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and more After releasing a pair of independent singles, Ras Kass emerged as one of the most highly regarded new rappers at the time, winning particular acclaim for his skills as a lyricist (in the space of six months, he twice earned Rap Pages magazine's Rhyme of the Month award as well as 2 The Source's Hip Hop Quotable honor). His long-awaited debut LP, Soul on Ice, arrived on spotify:search:label%3A%22Priority+Records%22 in 1996. The album is considered a classic for seven-minute history lesson "Nature of the Threat," His sophomore effort, Rasassination (spotify:search:label%3A%22PatchWerk%22 /spotify:search:label%3A%22Priority%22 ), followed in 1998, landing in the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 The release of his follow-up, Van Gogh, was delayed by label mergers and bootlegging which shelved the project. The next lP; Goldyn Chyld, also failed to materialize. HRSMN, a rap supergroup formed with Kurupt, Killah Priest, and Canibus was leaked in 2003. Still while incarcerated & still embroiled in label disagreements. Blasphemy, a collaborative album with producer Apollo Brown, was issued in 2014 and In 2019, Ras released the full-length Soul on Ice 2, the long-awaited sequel to his 1996 debut. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Jason Ankeny, Rovi