Khatib

Born April 8th, 1983 in Hayti, Missouri, Khatib had the normal, small town country living. Making due with what he had made him appreciate things at a young age. "I didn't have the best or much but whatever it was meant the world to me," recalls the lyrically gifted emcee. Growing up in the shadow of his older brother, Khatib participated in sports. Even though Khatib was fairly talented in them, he felt athletics wasn't his calling. "That was my older brother's thing, my mom had me doing it because he did it" says Khatib.  Dealing with feeling neglected from riffs between his parents, a young Khatib turned to music as an escape. The poetic satire of the artists only intrigued the young lad. It wasn't until the infamous butt whooping Khatib received for saying Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle" album cover was going to be him, that he knew what his career path would be. Heavily influenced by Snoop, Eightball & MJG, Jay Z, Nas, No Limit Records, Paul Wall & Chamillionaire, & Slim Thug, throughout the years his penmanship progressed. "I won this lyric contest onchamillionaire.com. He said, 'Don't talk about superficial things. Be more like Eminem. Reality raps.' I won 1st place." That contest officially made Khatib take his writing ability serious. Always having a way with words made it easier for him to convey his thoughts in song format. In 2008, the first song Khatib actually recorded was a mixtape track called "It's Go Time" featuring two other prominent rappers from his town. Garnering good reviews from the streets, that track led to the anti major label "Respect Me Sucka" showcasing his hip hop talents. Personal pit stops caused Khatib to cease with his musical efforts for a period of time, only to emerge back on the scene with 2009's "Grind Til I Get It". That cemented Khatib was going to be here to stay. Long time supporter DJ Bones Productions dubbed Khatib "The Lil Wayne of the Bootheel" because of his ability to go away from the norm and still be understood by the masses. "I take it as a compliment since Bones doesn't support just anyone. You have to be better than good for him to say something about you," states Khatib. Staying active, writing and making appearances on mixtapes, Khatib didn't officially drop a project until 2012's "Beating Up Beats vol.1: Assault Charges". The 27 track release killed any doubt that Khatib could produce a cohesive project. "'Beating Up Beats vol.1' always be special to me. It was my defining moment, so to speak," Khatib humbly admits. After taking three years to give the fans a project, it only took two and a half weeks for Khatib to have another mixtape ready. This time he wasn't alone. He was paired side by side with St. Louis, Missouri rap hustler CS Real. In August 2012, they set the Internet on fire with the impressive "Featuring Us" accompanied with two videos. One for the aggressive and witty "We Killin' Shit" and the other for the lyrical neck-breaker "Flowtro". In 2013, Khatib dusted the dirt off of a song he wrote back in 2011 called "Blame It On My Mojo". When asked if he was worried if the time had passed for the song, Khatib smirked and said, "Timeless music doesn't get old." Officially released via iTunes and all other major digital outlets on January 7th, 2014, "Blame It On My Mojo" has been gaining great momentum. SCM Radio out of Memphis, Tennessee has it in regular rotation. Also 94.7FM My Beat in Charlotte, North Carolina has reported that it has been #4 in the most played songs on its station. "It's a blessing to have my song in rotation in cities as big as those coming from where I'm from in a country town," admits Khatib. After releasing "Khatib On It" in March of 2015, the artists' take on his rendition of remixing popular songs with an added verse from none other than himself. He is in the last stages of his current project "Substance Abuse", which the emcee dubs as "No Pretty Shit". This will be the prelude to his official album "Beating Up Beats vol.2: Booking." Things seem to be in place for Khatib so the world can "Blame It On His Mojo." Words by Polo The Rich Bum for the Hunger Movement LLC.