Background
Weiss was born and raised in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
Weiss was born and raised in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
He started writing at the age of 15, and later attended Columbia College Chicago as a music major.
Organic Mind Unit In 1999, Weiss dropped out of college and founded Organic Mind Unit, a live hip hop band that performed in Chicago. Early versions of the group included eight rappers, with Weiss as the drummer. After he showed other OMU members some of his writing, they encouraged him to start rapping.
He took on the moniker Verbal Kent, based on Roger “Verbal” Kint, the con artist played by Kevin Spacey in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects, who makes up a story based on his surroundings – a story that takes on a different meaning upon repeat viewings of the film.
Weiss has said that he aspires to this sort of depth in his rhymes. Other collaborations In 2006, Kent formed a crew of battle rappers going by the name Giraffe Nuts.
The final group was composed of ten rappers: Kent, Rusty Chains, Lance Ambu, Alltruisms, Roadblok, Doomsday, Encyclopedia Brown, Moodswangz, Kang the Konquorer and Elfamail. They released an album, Eat Them, in 2007.
In 2013, Kent, Detroit emcee Red Pill and producer Apollo Brown formed Ugly Heroes, releasing their self-titled debut in May 2013.
The album examines the harsh realities of the members" hometowns. In 2003, walking down an empty alley near Clark and Pratt in Chicago with an acquaintance, the acquaintance slashed Kent’s throat with a knife, missing his jugular by less than a centimeter. Kent managed to run to his car, and drove himself to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston as blood poured from his neck.
He received nearly 100 stitches, and took two months to recuperate.
Number arrests were made, and the reason for the attack remains unknown.