Referred to by both the media and his fans as a prophet, innovator, and poet, among other accolades, Killah Priest is widely recognized as one of the most vivid lyricists in Hip Hop. Having first entranced listeners on the classic track B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) on GZAs seminal debut LP Liquid Swords, Killah Priest has continued to enthrall devotees of true Hip Hop with his lush imagery, graphic storytelling and razor-sharp rhymes over the past decade.

Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Killah Priest (born Walter Reed) began immersing himself in spiritual discovery and learning long before he touched a microphone, studying religion and history in his spare time. He fondly recalls initiating impromptu Bible study sessions and Ancient History lessons on the streets of Brooklyn while he was still in high school. That early exposure and continuing education still resonates in his lyrics today, interwoven with his personal experiences in his Bed-Stuy projects.

His childhood friendships with Wu-Tangs GZA and Onyxs Suave exposed him to pursuing music as a career, and his mesmerizing wordplay on B.I.B.L.E. prompted Geffen Records to offer him a recording contract soon thereafter. That resulting album, Heavy Mental, debuted at ..24 on the pop charts, and remains a classic LP, landing a spot on influential music critic Robert "The Dean of American Rock Critics" Christgau's Pazz & Jop 1998 Deans List as one of the best albums of the year in any genre, along with the debut LP from Priests group Sunz of Man, The Last Shall Be First (Red Ant). An amazing feat for any album, this critical acclaim is even more unique for both the solo and group debuts of a single artist in the same year.

Combined with memorable cameos on albums by The Wu-Tang Clan, Gravediggaz, Ol Dirty Bastard and the Red Hot Organizations 6th AIDS charity album America Is Dying Slowly (with the titles acronym created by Priest) further established Killah Priest as one of the most respected voices and visionaries in Hip Hop. His stature is evident in the company he keeps, having recorded and/or performed with music legends both within and outside of Hip Hop, such as George Clinton, Big Daddy Kane, Earth Wind and Fire, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean, Elephant Man, and DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, and even appearing on the 2003 Led Zeppelin tribute album Stairway To Rock alongside the likes of Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Alanis Morisette, Metallica and Slash.

His subsequent follow-ups to Heavy Mental , View From Masada (2000,MCA, which heavily featured production by a then-unknown producer named Just Blaze), Priesthood (2001, released on his own label, Proverbs Records) and Black August (2003, Recon Records), all garnered excellent reviews as well, leading many of his fans to bemoan the fact that such a gifted rapper continues to hover under the radar in spite of (or because of) adhering to his own high standards in rhyme. The full-length version of his Four Horsemen EP the supergroup collaboration with Canibus, Rass Kass and Kurupt remains one of the most highly-anticipated, never-realized projects in Hip Hop.

While recording his next solo album, The Offering in 2004, Priest met up with Queens rapper Tragedy Khadafi (f/k/a The Intelligent Hoodlum). The chance meeting led Priest to put his album on hold and the two rappers, teaming up with Priests fellow Wu-Tang affiliates, former Sunz Of Man groupmate Hellrazah and Royal Fams Timbo King, formed the Black Market Militia and released the groups self-titled debut in early 2005.

Presently, Priest dropping the Killah and naming himself Priesthood is refocused on The Offering and is putting the final touches on album, including recording a duet with Nas. One of the tracks, Truth Be Told is presently burning up the Internet generating buzz once again on one of the most slept-on rappers in Hip Hop.

Early years
Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville areas of Brooklyn, New York, Killah Priest became infatuated with hip hop music as a child. He was influenced by local rappers such as GZA (then known as the Genius) and Onyx's Sonsee, who would often play local parties. He soon began working on his own rhyming and eventually earned a considerable reputation around Brooklyn.


1990s
Priest first made himself known to the hip hop world rapping on two songs on the Gravediggaz album 6 Feet Deep in 1994 (1994), and followed this with appearances on two Wu-Tang Clan solo albums, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and GZA's Liquid Swords, both from 1995 (see 1995 in music). Liquid Swords in fact included a Killah Priest solo track titled "B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)". Also in 1995, Priest formed the group Sunz Of Man with rappers Hell Razah, 60 Second Assassin, Prodigal Sunn. Initially Sunz Of Man included Shabazz the Disciple, who had previously been in a duo with Priest called The Disciples, but Shabazz left the group amicably a year after its formation.

Killah Priest's first solo album was Heavy Mental, released on Geffen Records in May 1998. It mostly expanded on the themes of "B.I.B.L.E.", featuring religious references and allegory woven into commentary on African American society and history. The album was mostly produced by the Wu-Elements producers, a group of in-house Wu-Tang producers mentored by Wu leader RZA. Sunz Of Man released their debut album The Last Shall Be First later in 1998, but by that time Priest's ties to the Wu were beginning to weaken, as he and long-time friend Shabazz clashed with RZA (their business ties with the Wu also began to weaken after the GZA Entertainment management agency, which they were both signed to, dissolved in 1996). After unsuccessful attempts by the pair to create new post-Wu Tang crews (Priest proposed a crew called the Maccabeez which would include himself, Shabazz and Timbo King among others, while Shabazz proposed a group including himself and Priest called the Sunz Of Thunder) they both effectively went their separate ways and cut their respective Wu-Tang ties.


2000s
After leaving the Wu stable, and consequently also effectively leaving Sunz Of Man, Priest helped form the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN with Ras Kass, Canibus and Kurupt. In October 2003, Killah Priest and Dreddy Kruger released a nine track album entitled The Horsemen Project. It was released independently through Think Differently Music/Proverbs Music Inc. and was only available to purchase off the internet.[1] Each track featured at least two members of the group as well as an appearance by Pak Man. It is currently unknown who handled the majority of the production on the album, although it is known that Mark Sparks was responsible for two songs. On Killah Priest's HipHopGame.com journal, he mentions the Horsemen a few times. The talks about a new album were mentioned on the May 1, 2006 entry. He said "The Horsemen project is definitely going to come. Right now we just have to get Kurupt. He's been doing the Dogg Pound thing, but it's definitely going to come. We have songs recorded and we have more in store."

Ras Kass and Canibus were featured on Priest's second album, View From Masada, which featured no Wu-Tang input whatsoever (though the album's liner notes included the note "PEACE TO WU-TANG CLAN"). The album had a decidedly more commercially minded style than Heavy Mental, and introduced his new Maccabeez crew, featuring a crew of then-unknown rappers. The album was also an important early stepping stone to stardom for producer Just Blaze, who would later go on to produce countless mainstream hip hop hits for the likes of Cam'ron, Erick Sermon, Fabolous and Jay-Z. However, View From Masada received mixed reviews.

Priest had to leave the major labels behind after View From Masada sold poorly. His first independent release Priesthood (2001), released on Proverbs Music, his own record label, was critically acclaimed thought it suffered from very limited distribution. Black August followed in 2003 on Recon Records, and was also well-received. Priest also released an album on the internet titled Black August Revisited a few months after the release of Black August which shared few similarities with the original, save its title. Black August Revisited also saw Priest rediscover his Wu-Tang ties, including collaborations with Hell Razah and Ol' Dirty Bastard. He also appeared in the music video for the single Made You Look by fellow New York rapper Nas.

In 2004, Priest performed numerous times with other Wu-Tang affiliates and also appeared on Masta Killa's album No Said Date. November 2005 saw the re-release of Priesthood on Mic Club Music, a label owned by Louis Lombard III (aka Luminati), who produced Priesthood as well as recent albums by Canibus. March 2007 saw the release of Killah Priest's mixtape album "End of the World".

On August 21, 2007 Killah Priest released The Offering, featured appearances from Nas, Immortal Technique, his fellow HRSMN, & 4th Disciple as well as Hell Razah, who appears on the advance single title track that was released in October 2005.

Killah Priest has a new album titled Behind the Stained Glass, released on May 20, 2008 on the label Good Hands Records.

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