Lazarus (rapper)

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Kamran Rashid Khan better known by his stage name Lazarus is a Detroit-based American rapper, songwriter and physician of Pakistani descent. He is known for his singles Drug of Choice, Open Heart Surgery, Fearless and Underdog featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bizarre, Crooked I and Royce da 5'9" respectively.

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Early life

Kamran Rashid Khan was born in Detroit, Michigan to a Muslim family from Pakistan. He attended Wayne State University where he received a Bachelor's degree in Biology and Michigan State University where he studied medicine.

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Career

2000-05: Career beginnings

While studying medicine, Lazarus simultaneously built a career in Hip Hop. He started rapping without a stage name but later changed his name to Lazarus due to hate crimes and racial stereotyping. He told in an interview to The Source that after 9/11 he felt that his chances of becoming a rapper were finished and that his stage name metaphors the biblical character that resurrected from the dead.

Lazarus gained popularity through freestyle rapping on radio stations in Detroit. He did many rap battles on FM 95.5 and FM 105.9. His singles were also played on FM 98. Lazarus then started making mixtapes and performing at venues in Detroit including opening up for G-Unit and D12. In 2005, he was interviewed by Discovery Channel and was featured in the documentary titled "The Real 8 Mile," which was hosted by Charlie LeDuff.

2007-11: Debut album and mixtape

Lazarus released his debut album Chapter One: The Prince Who Would Be King in 2007 which led to receive him three nominations "Lyricist of the Year," "Song of the Year," and "Artist of the Year" at the 2007 Detroit Hip Hop Awards. The album had 18 tracks including a featured track with Royce da 5'9". The album spawned the single Let The Game Know. The single received over a million views on YouTube and its music video was directed by Anthony Garth. Another music video of the single Drug of Choice from his mixtape Lazarus Story (2010) received worldwide coverage and also gained over a million views on YouTube. It was filmed in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

2013-2015: All Def Digital and collaborations

In 2013, Lazarus signed to Russell Simmons' YouTube multi-channel network All Def Digital and in 2014 he released the single Open Heart Surgery featuring D12's rapper Bizarre. It won the award for "Song of the Year" at the 12th Underground Music Awards in New York City. Lazarus then released his single Underdog featuring Royce da 5'9" in July 2015. The track was introduced by Chuck D of Public Enemy. In October 2015, he opened up for Ludacris at his concert in Dallas, Texas. He was also featured on the song "Raw As It Gets" from D12's 2015 mixtape Devil's Night. The mixtape was introduced by Eminem and promoted by Shady Records.

2016-present: Laz Army Records

In January 2016, Lazarus released the track Fearless featuring Crooked I in which he criticized Donald Trump. The song included the verse: "Donald wants my arm embedded, Muslims cannot stay here. Now I'm feeling like a mutant but am I Magnus or Xavier?" In an interview with Examiner.com, he said regarding this verse: "It's like the comic book "X-Men." As silly as it may sound, Muslims are the new mutants of today's society. Senator Kelly in the "X-Men" and Donald Trump are basically saying the same thing. There is supposed violence taking place by Muslims somewhere, now we must propose a ban on them all." Lazarus released the music video of Underdog featuring Royce da 5'9" in February 2016 under All Def Digital. The music video of Raw As It Gets from D12's mixtape Devil's Night was released in August 2016.

In January 2017, Lazarus and Bohemia released their collaborative track MTBK (Mundian To Bach Ke) featuring Deep Jandu and Shaxe Oriah. The single was produced by Kali Denali Music as a tribute to the late Labh Janjua and its music video crossed 2 million views on YouTube. His next single Man On A Mission produced by Dub Muzik was released in August 2017. DesiHipHop.com reviewed it positively saying, "Lazarus just dropped his most creative song to date." The music video for the song was produced, edited and directed by Lazarus himself. It was released under his independent record company Laz Army Records and reached over a million views on YouTube. Lazarus toured Pakistan in October 2017 and then released his next video "Pakistan" in November 2017 in which he rapped about the country in the Urdu language and dedicated it to the legendary Pakistani poet Allama Iqbal on his birthday.

In December 2017, Lazarus celebrated the 10 year anniversary of his highly received 2007 track "GODFLOW" by releasing a music video for it. The video was shot in Lahore, Pakistan and produced by the visual effects team of Muhammad Shah. The song featured 100 bars of lyrics and was produced by Alpha-Bet. It was released on New Year's Eve under Laz Army Records and attained over a million views on YouTube on its first week of release.