This introduction to Christianity and God changed his perspective on life and gangs. In a room filled with rival gang members and former gang members, bloods and otherwise, Redcloud found a new family, that he felt was sincere. He felt he was saved.

The new life came at a price.

“To get jumped out, I hit up my homeboy Bam-Bam. This dude got the High School cats and the Samoans from high school. I’m in 8th grade, getting jumped out by these high school cats. They smashed me up! Half the school was there…It was terrible, dog. It was like three Mexican dudes and three Samoan cats. You know what Samoan cats look like, dog. They were kicking me when I was down. Just when I thought it was over and I heard them say 'Yo, stop! He’s had enough,' I was ready to get up in a push-up position on the floor. This cat named Stomper stomps on the back of my head right into the concrete and puts this huge knot on my forehead.

They had busted all of my blood vessels/blood capillaries. Just the white of my eyes were blood red. They were both blood red eyes with little black pupils. I looked like a demon. The knot on my head was like freaking Rahman!

That takes forever to heal! Most fools don’t have the courage to get jumped out, but I did, man.”

While he suffered through ridicule, in the streets and at home, for leaving the gang life behind, he later proved he was a survivor by honing his freestyle battle skills. His success in murking cats in rap battles got the same gangsters who ridiculed him to give him props.

Those props later earned him a record deal with Syntax Records. Through this, he kept proving his skills and sharpening his sword through various lyrical battles. Finally, he reached out to mainstream radio at Power 106 in Los Angeles. He battled on air and won notoriety to the point that Kurupt decided to give the station a ring. “We’re definitely looking for cats like you on the Row,” he said, noting legendary label Death Row. Suge Knight was present as well, showing praise.

Later, Kurupt and Redcloud got to speak about how they went to high school together and a track came out of that connection. Kurupt reached out to Felony and that track was made. His connections with The Visionaries put together another track. Little by little, this new album was formed. With production by Tim from Syntax, Pigeon John and others, the new album comes with a host of new topics most don’t speak about, as well as a nice mixture of appealing bounce-driven hits to balance it all out.

Redcloud’s unique style of complex, yet down-to-earth, every-man rhymes appears on his new LP Hawthorne’s Most Wanted, full of thought provoking songs, as well as enjoyable West Coast bounce music. For a preview, here are video clips for two tracks off the album.

“Boulevard Knights”

“Tapatio” Feat. Pigeon John