Not4Prophet

(Not4)Prophet (aka Not4Prophet, aka Prophet) is the emcee for the hip hop group X-Vandals, and the former lead singer of the punk rock Latin fusion band Ricanstruction, as well as a graffiti writer and radical political activist. Though not as well known in mainstream and pop music circles, he is considered by many to be an underground icon and anti-corporate hero (both on and off stage) for his staunchly independent music and anti-system politics.

Biography

Early life

(Not4)Prophet (N4P), formerly known by his "colonial" birth name, Alano Indio Baez, was born 23 July in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised, mostly, in Harlem, New York. He was given the name Not4Prophet when he was 10 years old by his older brother, who would take him along to watch for police while the older sibling wrote graffiti. His brothers graffiti crew began calling Alano "Not for Profit", since his brother was not paying him to do security. When he began writing graffiti himself, he tagged up "N4P", and sometimes "Profit", which eventually became Not4Prophet (and sometimes Prophet). His parents were early political influences on him, as they were Puerto Rican "Independentistas" (those who advocate Puerto Rican independence from the U.S.). He began reading and studying the works, lives and actions of such political activists as Malcolm X, Pedro Albizu Campos, The Black Panthers, and the Macheteros. In his early teens he was homeless after his father went to prison and his mother could no longer care for him economically, and later served in the U.S. military. Upon his release, (Not4)Prophet found himself back on the same streets that he had struggled in all his life.

Noise Culture to Ricanstruction

In the mid 1990s, fresh from military service, (Not4)Prophet formed a band called Noise Culture as a means of voicing his discontent with the state of the world and as a way to discuss his experiences growing up on the streets of Harlem, in the military, as well as the colonial status of his homeland, Puerto Rico. The band was well received, but due to a lack of commitment from some members, (Not4)Prophet soon began plans and actions to form an all-Latino or (preferably) all-Puerto Rican band that shared the same views and experiences as he did. He met up with two Puerto Rican brothers who played drums and bass guitar (Joseph and Arturo Rodriguez, both of Harlem, NY) and a guitarist (Eddie Alsina, also of Harlem, NY). The chemistry was instant and they named themselves "Ricanstruction" from "Puerto(Rican)" and "con(struction)" and/or "de(struction)".

Ricanstruction Netwerk

By the beginning of the new century, the band known as Ricanstruction morphed into what Not4Prophet called an "arts and agitation collective", consisting of musicians, painters, film makers, writers and poets, within and outside New York City, who used their political art, abilities and street knowledge to confront the established order and engage in the "politics of struggle." Ricanstruction Netwerk organizes and supports causes ranging from Puerto Rican and Black liberation and the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners (as well as New African, Native American and Anarchists political prisoners), to squatters rights and the struggle against homelessness. Not4Prophet, who has called himself an anarcho-independentista, or someone who supports Puerto Rican liberation from an anarchist perspective, also works closely with the movement known as APOC, anti-authoritarian/autonomous People of Color.

X-Vandals

In 2007, (Not4)Prophet met DJ Johnny Juice (Johnny Rosado), a fellow Puerto Rican from the Bronx, who was in-studio DJ for political Hip Hop group Public Enemy, as well as one of their producers, and they formed the radical Puerto Rican Hip Hop group that they called X-Vandals. In December of that same year they self-released their first full length CD, The War of Art, and began opening shows for Public Enemy. Not4Prophet has characterized X-Vandals as the current sonic assault wing of the Ricanstruction Network.

Other projects

Film

Lead singer (Not4)Prophet recently starred in his first acting role in the underground film, "Machetero".

Trivia

• (Not4)Prophet (Alano Baez) is related to cuatro player and Salsa music legend Yomo Toro.

Albums

• Liberation Day (1998) - Ricanstruction
• Abu Jamal (1999) - Ricanstruction
• UnAmerican (2001) - Ricanstruction
• Anarcho Freequency (2003) - Renegades of Punk
• Love+Revolution (2004) - Ricanstruction
• The War of Art (2007) - X-Vandals