Shaheed Akbar, better known as The Jacka, is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, California.  He was born to teenage parents and raised in a hip hop culture, so rapping and rhyming were second nature for him.  Due to a diverse set of exposures, he was equally influenced by hip hop, rap and Muslim imams.

The Jacka

I spent so many years in the studio just making songs, I really practice my craft. I make good music and a lot of these cats just do it because they wanna be famous. When they got the ball they dropped it because they’re not as raw as people was making them out to be, you know? I always had to prove myself and I never had anybody to just hand me anything, I was always putting in that work.

The Beginning

Shaheed Akbar, better known as The Jacka, is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, California.  He was born to teenage parents and raised in a hip hop culture, so rapping and rhyming were second nature for him.  Due to a diverse set of exposures, he was equally influenced by hip hop, rap and Muslim imams.  

He became a member of the group, Mob Figaz and in 1999 they released their debut album. It sold over 100,000 copies, and they released their follow-up in 2001.  Also in 2001, The Jacka released his first solo album, Jacka of the Mob Figaz.  For the next five to six years, he would perform and record as a group member and as a solo artist

Bigger than Live

Over the next five years, The Jacka released two solo albums and four Mob Figaz albums.  He toured and performed with fellow rappers, building a loyal fan base and a solid career.  He spent much of 2006 and 2007, collaborating and making mixtapes with DJ Juice, The Demolition Men, and DJ Ktone.  In 2006, he received the Bay Area Rap Scene Award for Best Underground Artist.  

In 2009, he released the album,  Tear Gas, which sold 5,800 copies in its first week of release.  The two singles released were Glamorous Lifestyle with Andre Nickatina and All Over Me with Matt Blaque.    It went to #4 on the Billboard Top Rap charts.  

Here and Now

In early 2010, The Jacka released his most recent album, Broad Daylight, which featured rap artists Keak da Sneak, Lee Majors, and Agerman.  It is too early to cite chart standings.  He is scheduled to perform in concert with BJ Thomas in April, 2010, in San Diego, and in May in the UK with Thon.  Only two months later, he released anotherr album, The Dre Area, Volume 2.  

Over the course of his career so far, The Jacka has appeared on over thirty different albums for over thirty different artists in collaborations.   In addition to these and his solo material, Mob Figaz have continued to record as well, with their most recent album having been released in 2008.

Did you know . . .

1. The Jacka changed his legal name to Shaheed Akbar when he converted to Islam.  His given name is Dominick Newton.

2. The Jacka runs his own record label, called Artist Records.

3. In 2008, The Jacka won Ozone Magazine's "Patiently Waiting: California" category for the 3rd annual TJ DJ's/Ozone Magazine Awards.  As an independent artist competing against  artists on commercial labels, this is unprecedented.

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