Artist Biography
As a member of the fiercely polemical hip-hop collective X-Clan, Professor X spearheaded rap music's embrace of Black Nationalist politics, later continuing his activism with a series of solo efforts. The son of Civil Rights' pioneer Sonny Carson, Professor X was born Lumumba Carson in Brooklyn in 1956. Carson first entered the music business as a promoter for rappers like Whodini. Some years older than the artists he mentored, he dubbed himself Professor X in honor of the guru leading comic book heroes the X-Men. In 1988, Professor X founded the Brooklyn-based X-Clan, who immediately served notice that their music would educate and uplift listeners of all races and creeds. Professor X was the group's sage, spouting his signature lyric "Vainglorious! This is protected by the red, the black, and the green" on several cuts on their acclaimed 1990 debut LP, To the East, Blackwards.
Hometown
Brooklyn, NY, United States
Genre
Hip-Hop/Rap