Biography
Kxng Crooked, also known as Crooked I, first reached the upper tiers of the Billboard charts in the late 2000s through his role in Slaughterhouse, yet the determined Long Beach rapper and label head possesses a longer trajectory that encompasses a mid-'90s major-label solo agreement, ties to Death Row Records, and placement in XXL magazine's inaugural annual Freshman Class spotlight. An illustration of persistence, Crooked has laid down multiple unreleased efforts and endured promising arrangements that ultimately collapsed. Even so, he has assembled a catalog comprising two studio albums alongside Slaughterhouse, a considerably greater quantity of further joint ventures, and an extensive array of solo mixtapes and LPs. His output after Slaughterhouse alone extends from the charting debut solo release Apex Predator (2013) to the Joell Ortiz partnership Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse (2022).
Born Dominick Antron Wickliffe, Crooked launched his career while still a teenager by entering 19th Street Records before securing a solo contract with Virgin Records rap imprint Noo Trybe. During his Noo Trybe period, he collaborated with Low Life Gangstas on "Rap Killer," recorded the solo single "DJ's and MC's," and joined the Caught Up soundtrack via the Luniz cut "Girl." His independence proved brief, as he soon aligned with Suge Knight and joined Death Row, where he surfaced on the Too Gangsta for Radio compilation through "Death Rizzo" and "Gangsta Rap," the latter also featuring Treach and Scarface, plus the Dysfunktional Family soundtrack, to which he added nearly a third of the material. Although at least one Crooked I mixtape emerged while he remained on the roster, two albums—including Say Hi to the Bad Guy, planned for 2002—failed to appear.
By early 2004 Crooked had exited Death Row and operated independently, establishing his Dynasty Entertainment imprint, yet legal barriers once more blocked the release of any project under his name. Mixtapes, DVDs, and guest spots kept accumulating until B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious)—finally his first official album—was readied for 2008. Like the Death Row material, B.O.S.S. was ultimately abandoned despite Crooked's rising visibility from his inclusion in XXL magazine's Freshman Class feature. Undeterred by these release obstacles, he kept dropping mixtapes and expanded his digital audience by posting tracks online.
During 2009 Joe Budden enlisted Crooked for the track "Slaughterhouse" alongside Royce da 5'9" and Joell Ortiz. The quartet subsequently formed the rap supergroup sharing that title and issued a self-titled debut LP that summer. Following additional Crooked I EPs and mixtapes, Slaughterhouse joined Eminem's Shady Records and delivered Welcome To: Our House in 2012. The group's second album reached number two on the Billboard 200 while claiming the top spots on the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts. That success positioned Crooked for his initial official solo album. Containing the hedonistic track "No Sleep Gang" and a Tech N9ne guest spot, Apex Predator appeared on Treacherous Records, another Crooked enterprise, and registered on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop, Independent, and Heatseekers charts after its July 2013 arrival. The following year, amid promotion for Shady XV—a Shady Records anthology strengthened by multiple Slaughterhouse contributions—Crooked revealed he had altered his full stage name from Crooked I to Kxng Crooked. He issued the police brutality protest song "I Can't Breathe" prior to delivering the Sex, Money and Hip-Hop LP at year's end.
Crooked entered one of his busiest stretches with Static Kxng (a complete collaboration with Statik Selektah), Good vs. Evil, and Good vs. Evil II: The Red Empire representing only his commercial full-length projects issued across 2016 and 2017. He declared his exit from the dormant Slaughterhouse in April 2018, after which three more duo albums arrived through 2020. These comprised Kxngs Wear Gold (with Frost Gamble), Gravitas (with Bronze Nazareth), and the partial Slaughterhouse reunion H.A.R.D., cut with Joell Ortiz. Crooked and Ortiz sustained their partnership and resurfaced in 2022 with Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse.
Born Dominick Antron Wickliffe, Crooked launched his career while still a teenager by entering 19th Street Records before securing a solo contract with Virgin Records rap imprint Noo Trybe. During his Noo Trybe period, he collaborated with Low Life Gangstas on "Rap Killer," recorded the solo single "DJ's and MC's," and joined the Caught Up soundtrack via the Luniz cut "Girl." His independence proved brief, as he soon aligned with Suge Knight and joined Death Row, where he surfaced on the Too Gangsta for Radio compilation through "Death Rizzo" and "Gangsta Rap," the latter also featuring Treach and Scarface, plus the Dysfunktional Family soundtrack, to which he added nearly a third of the material. Although at least one Crooked I mixtape emerged while he remained on the roster, two albums—including Say Hi to the Bad Guy, planned for 2002—failed to appear.
By early 2004 Crooked had exited Death Row and operated independently, establishing his Dynasty Entertainment imprint, yet legal barriers once more blocked the release of any project under his name. Mixtapes, DVDs, and guest spots kept accumulating until B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious)—finally his first official album—was readied for 2008. Like the Death Row material, B.O.S.S. was ultimately abandoned despite Crooked's rising visibility from his inclusion in XXL magazine's Freshman Class feature. Undeterred by these release obstacles, he kept dropping mixtapes and expanded his digital audience by posting tracks online.
During 2009 Joe Budden enlisted Crooked for the track "Slaughterhouse" alongside Royce da 5'9" and Joell Ortiz. The quartet subsequently formed the rap supergroup sharing that title and issued a self-titled debut LP that summer. Following additional Crooked I EPs and mixtapes, Slaughterhouse joined Eminem's Shady Records and delivered Welcome To: Our House in 2012. The group's second album reached number two on the Billboard 200 while claiming the top spots on the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts. That success positioned Crooked for his initial official solo album. Containing the hedonistic track "No Sleep Gang" and a Tech N9ne guest spot, Apex Predator appeared on Treacherous Records, another Crooked enterprise, and registered on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop, Independent, and Heatseekers charts after its July 2013 arrival. The following year, amid promotion for Shady XV—a Shady Records anthology strengthened by multiple Slaughterhouse contributions—Crooked revealed he had altered his full stage name from Crooked I to Kxng Crooked. He issued the police brutality protest song "I Can't Breathe" prior to delivering the Sex, Money and Hip-Hop LP at year's end.
Crooked entered one of his busiest stretches with Static Kxng (a complete collaboration with Statik Selektah), Good vs. Evil, and Good vs. Evil II: The Red Empire representing only his commercial full-length projects issued across 2016 and 2017. He declared his exit from the dormant Slaughterhouse in April 2018, after which three more duo albums arrived through 2020. These comprised Kxngs Wear Gold (with Frost Gamble), Gravitas (with Bronze Nazareth), and the partial Slaughterhouse reunion H.A.R.D., cut with Joell Ortiz. Crooked and Ortiz sustained their partnership and resurfaced in 2022 with Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse.
Albums
Singles
