From Hell to Heaven; The rebirth of Heaven Razah

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

So, let’s talk 90s Hip Hop for a minute; I want you to pause, and see if you can remember the group Sunz of Man, an early affiliate group of the Wu-Tang Clan. The group included: Killah Priest, Shabazz the Disciple, Prodigal Sunn, Supreme, Hell Razah and 7^th Ambassador. The group adopted the moniker Sunz of Man and signed a record deal with Wu-Tang/Priority Records in 1995. One of the youngest members of the group and an individual that I was honored to have an in-depth conversation with is non other than Heaven Razah (formerly Hell Razah).

Chron Smith (born October 1,1976) has been working for as long as he can remember. He had been writing and recording before he joined Sunz of Man, and had actually independently released the singles “Living in Hell,” and “Mental Combat,” alongside 7^th Ambassador before the group was formed. Razah recorded multiple tracks with the group before they joined the Wu-Tang Family, and after that, Sunz of Man signed a record deal with Red Ant Entertainment. In 1998 they released ‘The Last Shall be First,’ and by then, the only members that were left were: Razah, Killah Priest, Prodigal Sunn, and 60 Second Assassin. That album ended up being the most successful Wu-Tan affiliate releases, debuting at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and No. 7 on the R&B/ Hip-Hop Chart.

During our interview, Razah spoke a little bit about his younger years, and the pressures of being part of such a highly branded group, “I was a youngin, and there was a lot of pressure to keep up with what everyone else was doing. You are literally watching your dreams come true, and you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself!” Razah hails from Red Hook, a part of Brooklyn named for the red clay soil, and home to some infamous names including Al Capone (no explanation needed), and Matty Rich, one of the highly regarded pioneers of Black Filmmaking. Regardless of his age, Razah’s hustle remained at 100%, and he continued working and perfecting his craft.

The group went through some turbulent times, but this did not diminish their drive. With members going and returning, they released the album Saviorz Day, the second official Sunz of Man Studio album in 2002, and finally, Razah thought that it was time to start following his own personal legend. His first actual solo debut was in 2001, and he appropriately named it, ‘When All Hell Breaks Loose.’ The album featured guest appearances from his old group members 7^th Ambassador, and Killah Priest, along with Prodigal Sunn and Timbo King. His next solo album, Renaissance Child was released in February 2007 on Nature Sounds Records, and featured another Hip Hop legend Talib Kweli, alongside a slew of powerful artists. For the rest of the decade, Razah stayed focused and continued to work. He had no idea that his life was going to take a tragic turn.

 On April 6, 2010, Razah was doing some graphic design work with his brother-in-law, when he started to have a headache. It was not an ordinary headache and he noted this immediately. He told his brother-in-law and was given Tylenol in the hopes that it would help. His head continued to hurt, and his brother called the ambulance, which then rushed Razah to Bellevue Hospital. When Razah woke up, he saw his family standing around him crying. He was out of it but was trying to figure out why everyone was so sad. He remained confused as nurses assisted him into a wheelchair, and his son ran up to him crying. Finally, someone broke the news to him. He had suffered a brain aneurysm. There had been a bubble that was traveling through his brain, and the family had to give the doctor’s permission to clip the bubble. The bubble was on the right side of his brain, which meant that after the surgery, he had lost mobility on the left side of his body. If his family had not made that decision, I would not have had the opportunity to hear about his remarkable story, and his family would have lost someone very special to them.

“We are honored to be receiving all of these accolades and awards. Razah’s story is one that needed to be told.” Frank Meyer

For the next five years, Razah had to learn how to walk, talk, and rhyme again. He had to literally rewrite his life, and he wanted to share this story, so he paired up with director Frank Meyer and they began to document his journey. We have heard of other artists who have had to come back from near death situations, but none have been so open with sharing their struggles through the rehab process, or the questions that plagued their minds through the process. What has resulted is an award-winning documentary Risen: The Story of Chron “Hell Razah” Smith. The documentary provides an uncompromising look into the world of rehabilitation and redemption, and Razah’s quest to not only rap again, but to love again. An eerie aspect of this story came when Razah received feedback from his fans. Some of his fans actually told him that he speaks of his demise in his last few albums, specifically the Renaissance Album; it was almost like a subliminal premonition. Razah had to actually go back and listen to them and realized that it was true. When Razah found out that only 1 out of 10 people survive an aneurysm, he knew that God had a plan for him. His story is a testament that regardless of what you go through, anything and everything is possible.