We’ve all seen the glamorous side of the hip-hop world via the high-budget promo videos (and then some), but for Anerae Veshaughn Brown, aka X-Raided, hip-hop is so much more; and it got him through some of the most challenging years of his life. From the age of 22 on, X-Raided spent twenty-six years incarcerated for murder before being paroled in 2018. Passing those years in prison, and preparing for release, the artist used his time behind bars to hone his skills as an MC. He was seriously studious, in many avenues, worked to perfect his bars, craft his message, and keep in mind his eventual freedom. Upon his release, the Californian rapper signed to Strange Music and, presently, is working on his new record, A Prayer From Hell. In our latest Cover Story, we spoke at length with X-Raided...