X-Raided

Anerae Veshaughn Brown (born July 30, 1974), better known as X-Raided, is an American rapper from Sacramento, California. Born in Waco, Texas, Anerae Brown and his family moved to Sacramento, California when he was young.

Brown’s mother, Shirley “Jaz” Brown, says her son was a bright youngster always jotting in his notebooks. He was schooled at home, where R&B was always around and his dad was not. Rap became his passion, and as his reputation grew, his mother sensed something was going wrong. She wanted him to join her for a much-needed vacation in March 1992, but then let him stay in Sacramento because he had a party celebrating a new single. Before the murder, Jaz Brown was a clerk at the Sacramento County Courthouse, but she quit when X-Raided became a famous defendant in the corridors.

X-Raided has been an active member of the 24th Street Garden Blocc Crips since before he recorded his first album, Psycho Active, in June 1990. He was only 16 when he finished his first recording, an underground project with Sacramento rapper Brotha Lynch Hung, and he was signed within a year to an local major label in Sacramento, California. His first solo work, “Psycho Active” in 1992, he had created a huge local buzz in the city of Sacramento that a gifted new rapper was claiming the Crips as his gang affiliation. He has also stated that Psycho Active was recorded during a deadly conflict between the 24th Street Garden Blocc Crips and the Meadowview Bloods so the lyrics are very hard and violent because it was his state of mind at the time. Due to the murder of a grandmother who lived near Sacramento. He and 4 other (Crips) gang members stormed the home of Patricia Harris which resulted in her being fatally shot. There was blood on the wall and door where she had been shot.

The cover of “Psycho Active” shows Brown’s face with a .38-caliber handgun pressed to his temple. There was talk that some of the songs actually referred back to the murder. Second, police maintained that the gun which he had pointed to his head on the album cover was the actual murder weapon. Anerae Brown and the 4 other Crip gang members was arrested in 1992. X-Raided now says he did not testify about what really happened the night of the Harris murder because he adhered to the gang code of silence. “I could have testified and gone home,” the rapper said. “But I kept it real.” He says he was present at the attack but did not pull the trigger.

From 1993 to 1995 X-Raided recorded a large amount of material entirely over the telephone while either in prison and in jail awaiting trial. These recordings were released on the 1995 album Xorcist. The exact means used to get the recordings is unknown, but the quality of X-Raided's material on the album is substantially less than studio quality, especially when intermixed with collaborations with other artists where the sound quality is normal. He says the lyrics mirror his state of mind at the time which was very sneaky and excited. In an interview he stated that he made Xorcist while on trial. A track on the album begins with a recording of a collect call from X-Raided which identifies him as "an inmate in Sacramento County Jail". Just months before the release of his debut, Anarae "X-Raided" Brown was arrested along with four others and charged with first degree gang-related murder. It was discovered that the lyrics on his debut contained mirror images of the crime he was suspected to have committed, and this caused national media coverage of X-Raided's then impending trial. The Source Magazine, Yo MTV Raps, and many other respected hip hop institutions reported on his situation. During all of the drama, X-Raided remained incarcerated at the Sacramento County Jail. It was during that time that X-Raided recorded his sophomore album, "Xorcist" (Black Market 1995), over the telephone. That album garnered even more attention and it was covered in various magazines including Playboy (September 1996). Months after the release of "Xorcist", X-Raided was convicted of first degree murder and gang related homicide as he was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

X-Raided's next album Unforgiven came in 1999, and was recorded while in prison. It was a real struggle to finish because he had to do the recordings without the prison guards knowing about it. He says the lyrics mirror his state of mind at the time which was very sneaky and excited. In actuality it was a guard who helped X-Raided access the equipment necessary to record the album, and even his cell mate, Dott Dogg, made an appearance on the album. While "Xorcist" was recorded over the phone, the clarity of the recordings that went into the The Unforgiven Volume 1 album suggest that it was made using more sophisticated equipment. The album was recorded into a DAT.

Many believed his career to be over, but X-Raided kept his name alive by penning an entire song, "Deadly Game", and co-writing two others, "Boo Yow" and "357", with childhood friend, C-BO for his 1998 AWOL Records/Noo Trybe release, "Til My Casket Drops". Now X-Raided returns with "The Unforgiven: Volume I", minus the phone recorded vocals. Vibe (August 1998) reported, "The Unforgiven is culled from 65 tracks recorded onto a DAT, with beats added afterwards at a studio". According to Jerry Smith, Community Resources Manager at Salinas State Prison, "it's a mystery how such vocal sessions could take place. Inmates are not allowed to have tape recorders."

Despite adverse circumstances, X-Raided managed to obtain clear and legitimate vocals. The result is "The Unforgiven: Volume I", sure to be hailed as one of the best West Coast albums ever written. X-Raided says,"with 2Pac gone, there is no one stepping up to represent the West Coast that has the lyrical skills, plus the intrigue to withstand the scrutiny that comes with being the best in his region. Now that I have real vocals, I am claiming the throne that was vacated by the death of Makaveli. Cali is mine and I am demanding my place at the top of the list of West Coast MC's". When asked about his case, X-Raided stated, "I was railroaded, straight up. But there is nothing I can do now except to make as much noise as I can, and hip hop is my medium, my podium. I gotta make some Johnny Cochran money so I can get up out of hell." "The Unforgiven: Volume I" showcases the production of newcomers DJ Shareil, The Technician, and R.A.W., collectively known as Mad Man Records. The album also features two new lyrical talents, Dott Dogg and Hanifah. Stand out tracks include "Misanthropy", "Spittin' Venom", and the autobiographical title track.

The Initiation was released in early 2001, and was the culmination of X-Raided's attempts at forming his own record label back in 1999, Mad Man. Whit the help of his mother, Brown’s mother, Shirley “Jaz” Brown. Since the release of that album, X-Raided has created another label called Bloc Star in 2005. He was the first artist to leave Madman Records in 2005. It is now run by Shirley “Jaz” Brown and Big No Love. Before the murder, Jaz Brown was a clerk at the Sacramento County Courthouse, but she quit when X-Raided became a famous defendant in the corridors. By June 2000, Jaz Brown had a new title, CEO of Madman Records, the new label for X-Raided and other local Sacramento rappers. She ran the business from a tidy Sacramento apartment, but its true command center was her son’s cell. Some said X-Raided is still part of Black Market Records.

Brown’s total of 10 albums have combined to sell 309,000 copies to 500,000 in the U.S., according to SoundScan, which is more than many artists but less than, say, Eminem sells in an average week. He is not rich, but his music has earned him more than $100,000 while behind bars.