Lumumba Carson

Robert Lumumba Carson (born August 4, 1956 , † March 17, 2006 in Brooklyn , New York ), stage name: Professor X , was an American rap musician and member of the band X-Clan .

Life

Carson was the son of civil rights activist Sonny Carson. He became known for his memorable texts and socially critical poetry. In contrast to the band Public Enemy , which also achieved fame with Conscious Rap during the same period , X-Clan never had the same commercial success. While Public Enemy consistently relied on confrontation, Professor X also struck conciliatory tones, which were also appreciated by a white audience. His band also differed from other hip-hop groups in terms of their dress code: they preferred to dress in African fashion. X-Clan produced two albums, To the East, Blackwards (1990) and Xodus (1992), which campaigned for the Black Power movement. As a solo artist, he produced the album Years of the 9: On the Blackhand Side in 1991 and Puss' n Boots (The Struggle Continues) in 1993 . With the rise of gangsta rap in the 1990s, political hip-hop groups like X-Clan began to lose influence.

In addition to his musical activities, Carson was also an active member and co-founder of the Black-Muslim civil rights organization Blackwatch . Lumumba Carson contracted meningitis and died on March 17, 2006; he left two sons.

Web links

• "Professor X, 49, Hip-Hop Activist and Member of the Group X-Clan, Is Dead" , New York Times , March 22, 2006
• "Rap's Professor X dies in B'klyn hosp," New York Daily News, March 21, 2006
• "Professor X Laid To Rest" , allhiphop.com , March 27, 2006