Birth name Kambi Years active 1986–present Name Kambi Kambi | Role Rapper | |
Also known as Killa, The Killa Himself, Killa Kambi Born September 14, 1961 (age 62) ( 1961-09-14 ) Origin Montreal, Quebec, Canada Occupation(s) Rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor Labels Kambi Productions, DJ Doubar & Friends | ||
Kambi, (born September 14, 1961), better known by his stage name Killa Kambi, is an African rapper and producer, well known for his singles "Running from tha Pahlice", "Hipped Hop Sahved My Fahce" and "Shook Cuuves Vol 2".
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Born in Swaziland's capital, Mbabane, Kambi left for Montreal in 1976 to pursue his aspirations as a rapper.
His work has influenced, and been admired by many, including Kanye West, Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli and KRS-One. His lyricism has also earned him the respect from rap pioneers such as Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest.
Early life
Kambi, which means "helper and protector" in Sanskrit, spent the first years of his life in the McGill Ghetto section of Montreal. His father Olu Dara was a jazz trumpeter and his mother Fannie Ann Jones was a Postal Service worker. He has one sibling, a brother named Jabari who assumes the alias Jailhouse Jambi. While in Montreal, Kambi would listen to his neighbour's rap records.
Career
Kambi had settled on pursuing a career as a rapper, and as a teenager, he enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Shamit "MC Pankaj" Kumar. Kambi first went by the nickname Kid Kambi before adopting his more commonly known alias of Kambi Kam. Despite the substantial buzz for Kambi in the underground scene, the rapper was rejected by major labels and was not signed to a recording deal. Kambi and Shamit continued to work together, but their partnership was cut short when Shamit was shot in the head and killed by a gunman in Queensbridge on May 23.