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Government Name
John Austin IV (A.K.A. Razzy Kazzy & Ras Kassiano) (Born on September 26, 1973 in Watts, CA)

Groups
Golden State Warriors/Golden State Project/Golden State:
Ras Kass (A.K.A. Razzy Kazzy & Ras Kassiano) (Born John Austin IV, September 26, 1973 in Watts, CA)
Xzibit (A.K.A. Mr. X-To-The-Z) (Born Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, September 18, 1974 in Detroit, MI)
Saafir (A.K.A. Mr. No No, The Shaft Sizzle & The Saucee Nomad) (Born Reggie Gibson in Oakland, CA)

Four Horsemen/The HRSMN:
Ras Kass (A.K.A. Razzy Kazzy & Ras Kassiano) (Born John Austin IV, September 26, 1973 in Watts, CA)
Kurupt (A.K.A. Young Gotti) (Born Ricardo Brown, November 23, 1972 in Philadelphia, PA)
Killah Priest (Born Walter Reed, August 16, 1970 in Brooklyn, NY)
Canibus (A.K.A. Rip The Jacker) (Born Germaine Williams in 1974 in Jamaica)

See Also: Xzibit, Saafir, Killah Priest, Kurupt, Canibus & Scipio

Albums
Ras Kass - Soul On Ice Demo
Ras Kass - Soul On Ice
Ras Kass - Rasassination
Ras Kass - Van Gogh (Pre-Release)
Ras Kass - Van Gogh (Alternate Version)
Ras Kass - Goldyn Chyld
Ras Kass Presents Re-Up
Ras Kass - Institutionalized
Ras Kass - Eat Or Die
Ras Kass - Institutionalized Volume 2
Ras Kass - The Barmageddon

Mixtapes
Ras Kass - On The Run
Ras Kass - Run Away Slave Mixtape
Ras Kass - Rarities
Ras Kass - Nature Of The Threat
Ras Kass - Mixtape Songs And Freestyles
Four Horsemen - The Horsemen Project

Also Featured On...
B C D E F H I J K L M N O P R S T W X

B
Bad Azz - Personal Business
David Banner - Sex, Drugs & Video Games
BattleCat - Gumbo Roots
Bishop Lamont & Black Milk - CALTROiT
Bishop Lamont - The Confessional

C
Canibus - 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)
Canibus - Brainstream
Canibus – Lyrical Law
Butch Cassidy - High
Caz - Goin' Head Up
Caz - Hood Hitz 2004
Chino XL - Here To Save You All
Chops - Virtuosity
Clee & Drank-A-Lot (A.K.A. Numskull) - Good Laaawd That's A Lot Of Drank
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
Coolio - Fantastic Voyage: Greatest Hits
Crooked I - An I For An I

D
D.B.A. - Doing Buisness As...The Album
Digital Dynasty 12 (Hosted By Xzibit)
DJ Age Presents The New West Order
DJ Muggs Vs. GZA - Grandmasters Remix Album
DJ Muggs - Take Aim
Dreddy Kruger Presents...Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture
Dreddy Kruger Presents...Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture The Lost Files

E
Evidence - Cats & Dogs

F
40 Glocc - The Jakal
40 Glocc - I Am Legend
40 Glocc & Zoolife Present Concrete Jungle
40 Glocc & Spider Loc - Before The Graveyard Shift

H
Hip Hop Game Presents Angeles Records Winter 2006 Sampler

I
Ice T - The 7th Deadly Sin
Immortal Technique - The 3rd World

J
Jedi Mind Tricks - Visions Of Gandhi

K
Kid Capri - Soundtrack To The Streets
Kokane - Don't Bite The Funk Vol. 1
Kurupt - G-TV (DVD)
Talib Kweli - Kweli-Confidential

L
The Lawhouse Experience, Vol. 1
Long Beach City Limits Volume One
Luniz - The Lost Tapes 2

M
M*A*S*K - Gettin' It In: The Mixtape
Million Family March
Muggs Presents Soul Assassins II

N
National Vinyl Association: Straight From The Crates Vol. 1
Nature Sounds Presents Natural Selection

O
Joell Ortiz - The Brick: Bodega Chronicles

P
Pharoahe Monch - Where Is Monch?
Phil The Agony - Steady Aromatic Mixtape
Phil The Agony - Steady Aromatic 2: The Purple Pack

R
Rhyme & Reason
Royce Da 5'9" - The King Is Back
RZA As Bobby Digital - In Stereo

S
Saafir - One Of The Hardest
Scipio - Young Scipio: The Mixtape
Snoop Dogg Presents The West Coast Blueprint
Snoop Dogg & West Coast All-Stars - L.A. Galaxy
Spider Loc Presents: Bangadoshish
Still More Bounce
Street Fighter
Strong Arm Steady - True Crime: Streets Of LA Mixtape
Strong Arm Steady - O-Dog Series Vol. 1
Strong Arm Steady - Deep Hearted

T
Thug Radio Mixtape XV: Want That Old Thing Back
Thug Radio Mixtape 17: Still No Surrender
Thug Radio Mixtape 18: Raw Shit
Training Day
Truly OdD - West West...Get Your Bars Up
2Pac - Rare & Unreleased

W
Westside Bugg - The Roach Motel
Wu-Chronicles

X
Xzibit - At The Speed Of Life
Xzibit - 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
Xzibit - Man vs. Machine

Bio From Wikipedia.Org
John Austin IV (born September 26, 1973 in Carson, California), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is also a member of underground supergroup The HRSMN along with: Killah Priest, Kurupt, and Canibus.

Early Career
Ras Kass released his debut album Soul On Ice in 1996. The album built up considerable hype through the release of several independent singles, including "Remain Anonymous" and "Won't Catch Me Runnin'." Soul On Ice saw little commercial success but was adored by the hip-hop underground, which appreciated both his sharp battle rhymes and his militant Afrocentricity. The latter also caused controversy due to the songs "Ordo Abchao" and "Nature of the Threat," which were tracks detailing the history of white-on-black racism, the latter lasting for well over seven minutes and likely his best-known song. Some claimed that Ras was extreme to the point of racism against Caucasians.

Ras Kass made a big push to make sure his second album Rasassination was commercially successful. As well as securing guest appearances from Xzibit and the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, he received considerable assistance from superstar West Coast producer Dr. Dre, who rhymed on the lead single "Ghetto Fabulous," the video for which was supported by an extravagant video shot on a luxury yacht.

The album contained some of his most intellectual material to date ("Interview With A Vampire," a theological and spiritual exploration that featured Ras rhyming from the perspectives of god, himself, and the devil) and occasionally addressed very personal subject matter ("It Is What It Is," concerning his relationship with his mother). Despite the single, his album still didn't sell as expected.

Ras Kass' third album Van Gogh was originally intended for release in 2001. However, the nearly-finished album was leaked onto the internet months before the release date. It received excellent reviews, but the bootlegging caused his label Priority Records to push the release date back twice before the record was eventually shelved indefinitely. This further worsened the relationship between the label and Ras Kass, which was already strained due to disputes over several things, including the level of promotion Ras was being given, and the alleged block of the Columbia/SME Records release of his supergroup Golden State Warriors' debut album. The unreleased Van Gogh album even featured the lyrics "Fuck Priority Records, like Prince I'm writing SLAVE on my cheek" (this was later fulfilled as Ras Kass appeared in popular hip hop magazine XXL with SLAVE written on his face).

The relationship between Ras and Priority reached breaking point when the label also shelved the intended Van Gogh replacement Goldyn Chyld, an album that featured tracks from Van Gogh as well as new material. The indefinite postponement was due to a dispute over the lead single: Ras wanted to release the DJ Premier-produced title track, while Priority wanted a Dr. Dre-produced track, against the wishes of both Ras and Dre. This prompted Ras to launch a Free Ras Kass campaign (supported by an on-line petition and T-shirts) to gain his release from his contract with the label.

Incarceration
In January 2003, Ras Kass went on the run from the authorities after a warrant was issued following an arrest for drunk driving. He then gave himself up during Memorial Day Weekend in May of that year. While incarcerated, he organized the independent release of a mixtape titled Re-Up, which featured himself and other artists. Priority Records unsuccessfully attempted to block this release. In the 2003 song "Rise of the Machines," (which featured Ras) Vinnie Paz, front man of the hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks showed where he stood on the issue by saying the words Free Ras Kass on the track. In May 2004, Ras filed a lawsuit against Priority Records, Capitol Records, and EMI in protest to his treatment by the label and claimed breach of contract in an attempt to have the mixtape nullified. Ras was denied his release from his recording contract with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in January 2007, even though Priority was absorbed by Capitol during 2004. There was a petition circulating the internet to get his release, generating about 1,308 signatures.

The HRSMN
The HRSMN was collaboration between four emcees: Canibus, Ras Kass, Kurupt, and Killah Priest. Together the group released one album called The Horsemen Project during 2003 on Think Differently Music/Proverbs/Babygrande Records. Since that release, fans have waited for another album. Although some members of the group kept calling it the Four Horsemen, Canibus always had the idea to add more people and form some kind of hip-hop supergroup. A lot of names have been mentioned in the past, such as Pharaohe Monch, Kool G. Rap, Pac-Man, Young Zee, Chino XL, Royce Da 5'9", Journalist, Lyrisick, Common, Rakim, Pace Won, Keith Murray, Vinnie Paz, Lonnie B, Danja Mowf, and Crooked I. Unfortunately, none of these emcees were made a member of the group (though some artists on this list were featured on tracks).

2004–Present
After his release from prison in December 2004, Ras was met with nationwide support. He appeared on several radio shows and returned to the studio, releasing a few songs to some acclaim. He then announced he would release a new album during 2005. To fire up his audience, Ras decided to drop the Guess Who's Back? mixtape, which was mainly released through his official Web site, Ras Kass-Central. Though still not officially released because of the Priority/Capitol/EMI Records situation, Ras did manage to independently release a mixtape/album titled Institutionalized Vol. 1. Revenge of the Spit, a 27-track mixtape featuring commercial instrumentals and original beats, was released in February 2006. Institutionalized Vol. 2 was slated for later that summer, but it never saw the light of day because Ras lost his case against Capitol/EMI Records. Ras was going to release another album under a new label but losing his battle with Capitol made that difficult. In September of 2006 Ras Kass performed a monumental show in conjunction with Scion events that also featered the artist Gambit from his record label, "RE-UP", as well Noyeek the Grizzley Bear, and The Roll Wit Us All Stars.

Recently, Ras announced that he and the newly revamped Priority Records are working on rebuilding their relationship. In new interviews that can be seen on Youtube, he mentioned that he is working on a new album to be titled The Autobiography of John Austin. However, on October 29, 2007, Ras Kass was arrested in Palmdale, California, for breaking his probation, leaving California and going to the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. Ras is currently incarcerated in the Pitchess Detention Center North Facility located in Castaic, California.

Official Sites: Band Camp, Big Cartel, MySpace, Facebook & Fuckin' Twitter