Unconventional to say the least, Khalil (Ismail Daugherty) never grew up wanting to be a Rapper or recording artist. " Man all I did was hoop. I ate and slept basketball. I played everyday and while other cats in the neighborhood was doin whatever, I was hoopin. After my parents, Basketball kept me out of trouble for real. That and Islam. Growing up muslim made me have a conscious mind. I always remember being aware of injustice and wanting to change it and my way was going to be make a million dollars in the NBA  and then build community centers to help kids who had less chances than I." But when Khalil wasn't on the basketball court, he was probably listening to hip hop with his friends. He always loved music and not just hip hop  "My friends would look at me like I was crazy because they might hear me listening to some classical symphony. My pops always listened to Jazz used to play instruments when he was younger. Music is genuinely in my blood."

Khalil had always been a writer by nature so he used to play around writing lyrics and recording but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that he began to take it seriously. " Man my friend amir put me on this program called Cool Edit and I used to take this cheap computer mic and record and while I thought it sounded terrible, people kept telling me they liked it so I never really stopped writing. Remember though, I wanted to hoop so when I started playing in college, the recording stopped." After a couple of years playing college ball, Khalil fell on hard personal times and left school. "I went through a lot of family break up issues during college and no one knew about them because I try to always give the appearance that everything is cool and I don't complain much about my problems. There are too many people in Africa and other parts of the world starving to death and being killed for me to ever ever complain." "All I can tell you is that Psychological pain is  worst than physical sometimes. I learned early on that there was only one true being that I could rely on when my soul was hurting and that was the Almighty Creator". That which does not kill you makes you stronger and in Khalil's case, gives inspiration. Khalil picked up the pen and started writing again and this time his hand just wouldn't let the pen go. At this point it was still a hobby but he started letting his friends hear some of his work and they wanted more. "I really have to give my friends credit for pushing me to keep going with this music. Omar who I used to play ball with, Kareem Ali and Salah, who were my main partners in rhyme and Amir who showed me a lot about recording early on". It wasn't, however, until Khalil met his now business partner, Darwin Antoine though, that he began to really think big. "Darwin was from New York and had a lot of experience in the cut throat music business so he schooled me on what to watch out for. When we met we just clicked. Both of us were these rebels for the cause from totally different backgrounds but we shared the vision of wanting to change the state of the world and the industry."

Today, the man they know as Khalil is poised to put a major dent into the industry and his mission is to change the whole game. "I want to show people that you don't have to compromise and fake your damn life story to reach the masses with your music. I never thought I'd be doing this but it shows the power of the Creator and so I put it all in His hands. I could be dead tomorrow but if I'm not, this might be my calling. InshAllah (If God wills). All I know is that people keep coming into my life and telling me that this music is what I need to be doing." So how in the world does Khalil plan to make a splash while avoiding the hassle of dealing with corruption in the industry? "I've always been an independent person who loves to learn. But I wanted to learn what I liked to learn so while I should have been doing homework at school, I was learning how to make videos, make websites and engineer. I knew I couldn't do it all and I had to focus on whatever was my calling so I partnered with people who do it better than I." Now partnered with a top notch team of producers, graphic artists, and video professionals, Khalil's mission is to bring his crew with him. "Mark my words, "You are going to hear from Justin Ambush, Julian Thenon,  Cdiddy, and Sincier, real soon. The only thing separating these guys from the Just Blazes and Kanye West's of the world as far as I'm concerned is the connection. Precision Audio Productions (engineering and tracking), Blue Phoenix Media (Film and Video), DicksonDesigns (Graphic Design), and IAMtechnologies, (Multimedia) are going to be household names if I have anything to do with it.  I love my crew because I think we all understand that in order to be successful, we are going to have to come together. I think Black people especially have a problem with that because everyone wants to be in the limelight but what separates us from the rest I believe, is that we share a firm belief in the creator.  We all know that all this stuff is nice but when we go into the ground, all this stuff stays here. So lets help each other out while there is still time." That's the type of thought process that sets Khalil apart from most of his peers. Almost every song contains thought provoking material that stops short of "preaching", keeps your head moving, and challenges the status quo. His vision is to challenge the boundaries of Hip Hop too! "I love music man. If it sounds good, and the words are good, I'm listening to it. So when I create, I do what feels best for the song. I might hum a melody or make a crazy sound or try to sing my nonsingin heart out. If a country song feels good in a sample, I'll use it. I'm not concerned with the so called hard-core image that these cats portray because 99 percent of the time, it isn't real. My father taught me how to defend myself, so why do I need to try so hard to tell people how hard I am?  If you are secure in your ability to handle yourself as a man, their isn't a need to front and convince somebody else. There ain't a man on this earth invincible or infallible and we all have to return to it so this is the attitude I take with everything I do." In the final analysis, it is Khalil's firm belief in the Creator as the only authority that steers him to be so different. "I am liberated by the fact that all credit goes to Him. You will all be able to tell by the music I make."

Look for the full fledged album debut from Khalil in late 2007 but stay posted. Word on the street is that, Khalil is prepping an EP to keep the fans appetite wet and that could drop before the end of the year. Stay Tuned!!