(Born on April 7th)
Alfonso Cook aka Rasheed music career began in the battle rap scene in the East Coast, In his late teenage years, growing up in Philadelphia, he studied poetry as a teenager, encouraged by his teachers to add depth to his raps he would do in school. He became a regular on the battle circuit, often traveling to New York City to take part in competitions. Rasheed would move to the South Park streets of Houston, TX, in his late teens. There is where he would meet Carlos Coy aka SPM

he began to hook up with various local rappers and even released an independent EP, [m=1209658], in 1994. Although he recorded a full-length album (Funk Is in the Air ) later in the year, he was incarcerated soon after its release and didn’t get the chance to promote it. But
Dope House Records was impressed by his self made albums.

and when he was released in 1996, they welcomed him into their collective. Producing and rapping with Lil’ Troy and Kid Frost, among others, he dropped the Internal Affairs single in 1999, followed the next year by [m=559179]. Showcasing his quick lyrical assault and funky Dirty South-style production, the album cemented his partnership with SPM, the driving force behind his new label.


Rasheed became a popular artist on the label, from his features on some of SPM’s popular songs such as Mary Go Round and Riddler On The Roof. He would go on to create a group and project with label mate Low G, called [m=1080759]. [m=1080759] became very popular in the sense that very few people had heard a rapper like Low G who rapped mostly in spanish, and an African American rapper, Rasheed, who also showcased his Spanish rapping skills.

Rasheed has continued to work, and provide his fans with the same music energy that they have come to enjoy from him throughout his career. He has released many albums and mixtures under his own label, 21st Century Entertainment, and he continues to do shows around the country. He has taken new artists under his wing and has taught them the way to hustle product and show them that Dope Still Sells Itself.