Kxng Crooked I

Dominick Antron Wickliffe, known professionally as Kxng Crooked I, was born on September 23, 1976, in Eastside, Long Beach, California. He began his music career at approximately 17 years old by establishing an independent record company, Muscle Records, alongside Chucky Miller and Leonard Russell. This early initiative led to his first record deal in 1995 with Noo Trybe/Virgin Records. During this period, he contributed to compilations from 19th Street Records and movie soundtracks for “Ride” and “Caught Up,” collaborating with artists such as Snoop Dogg and Tha Eastsidaz. However, Virgin Records subsequently disbanded its urban division, leaving him without a label. Following this, he engaged in discussions with Daz Dillinger for DPG Records and Dr. Dre’s Aftermath imprint, ultimately re-negotiating a solo artist deal with Death Row Records.

While signed to Death Row Records, Kxng Crooked I appeared on several compilations, including “Dysfunktional Family,” and featured on releases by Ja Rule and 2Pac. He recorded two albums, “Untouchable” and “Say Hi To The Bad Guy,” which remained unreleased due to label complications. His contract with Death Row expired in November 2003, leading him to establish his own label, Dynasty Entertainment, in early 2004. He secured a distribution deal with Treacherous Records/Universal but faced further legal challenges, which delayed his debut album, initially titled “Mama’s Boy.” His innovative approach to digital marketing began around this time, launching Dynasty TV as an early artist-based video streaming platform and building a significant online fan community with over 15,000 members for his Dynasty Entertainment website, westcoastdynasty.com. His online mixtape, “Young Boss Vol. 1,” was downloaded more than 20,000 times, causing his web server to crash, and received an “XL” rating from XXL Magazine.

Kxng Crooked I further expanded his digital presence with the “Hip-Hop Weekly” series, where he released a new track every seven days from April 2007 to April 2008. This initiative garnered significant attention, leading to features in XXL Magazine’s Freshmen 10 in December 2007 and Vibe magazine, which dubbed him an “Internet Gorilla” in August 2008 for his online marketing strategies. In 2008, he released the mixtapes “St. Valentine’s Day Bossacre” and “The Block Obama: Hood Politics,” alongside the digital EP “Block Obama II.” A major career development occurred when he co-founded the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse in 2008 with Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce da 5’9″, releasing two studio albums, including “Welcome to: Our House” through Eminem’s Shady Records in 2012. He officially departed from Slaughterhouse in April 2018 to concentrate on his solo career and continues to release music through various collaborations and independent projects.