SD CityBeat: ‘Victim of circumstance.’ On Cutthroat and violence in Southeast SD
Photo: David Rolland
Kinda missed this the first time. CityBeat did a story on Cutthroat, who was killed in the string of shootings in Southeast SD a couple months ago. Here I am giving a shit about the SDMA’s when, clearly, there are things bigger than hip-hop. Shouts to Crhymes, who probably had a lot to do with this story getting published. Check out the grab below and then read the full story here.
Al’Uqdah, 34, who performed under the name Cutthroat, grew up in the Mount Hope area and had ties to the Neighborhood Crips. But he wasn’t a stereotypical gang member. In interviews with CityBeat, his brother Dahryan and several of his close friends described him as a prolific rapper with a compassionate streak. He supported struggling friends, acted as a father figure for women and neighborhood youngsters and always seemed to have a smile on his face, they say.
“On the outside, he might’ve looked a little scary at times. But on the inside, I don’t think I’ve ever met another person with a bigger heart,” says Cairo Anubiss, who produced many of Al’Uqdah’s tracks, in a tearful phone interview. “I mean, I can’t even count how many times I needed him to help me with something or help me in the yard or move or something, and he was always there. Never made excuses.”
He was also a convicted felon who’d served prison terms for drug possession with intent to sell, according to court documents. But in a letter sent to a judge in 2001, the director of a local youth organization Al’Uqdah worked for vouched for him, describing how he assisted a Pop Warner coach during games and counseled kids against joining gangs.
RIP Cutthroat.
Reading be fun though:
