Early Life
He was raised in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood known as the “Wild 100’s” and is a former member of the widespread Islamic street gang The Blackstone Rangers. In his youth he became friendly with rapper Common. He was self-diagnosed with Dyslexia as a teenager but overcame his learning disability and word-impairment, earning himself a place among the urban intelligentsia. He has evolved over the years from a street hustler into a street poet. His name means "King Joseph" (Malik and Yusuf respectively) in the Arabic language, the liturgical language of Islam.
Read more about this topic: Malik Yusef
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