Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashad Jamal.
Rashad, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey started in Chicago,Il we’re I was born and raised. I witnessed a lot of violence growing up in the city of Chicago and I decided around the age of 21 that I would use my talent for Music and Poetry to move myself out of Chicago. I did not want to raise a family in the same conditions I were exposed to daily just to survive. The streets of Chicago are rough and are gang infested.Most people are affiliated with gangs in Chicago because it’s so imbedded in the culture. This dates back to the Al Capone days.
So I ended up joining a gang just to stay alive because others gangs would attempt to harm me and my friends even though we were not in a gang. But because we stayed in a neighborhood who had gangs we would be attacked by rival gang members. This forced me to the streets. At the tender age of 13 I gave my life to the streets of Chicago. Although I had talent for Music and was a star athlete in basketball with aspirations to use either my talent for music or basketball as a way to get out the city of Having one foot in and one foot out of the streets eventually consumed me and dilapidated my basketball dreams. By 18 despite having Athletic and Academic scholarships I gave into the the peer pressure of street life and dropped out of high school my senior year.
I come from a good House hold with a Solid Christian upbringing from my Grandmother and a solid Muslim upbringing from my mom.I was raised right although I took an alternate route. My mom gave me two options after dropping out of highschool. She told me either leave her house or go to job Corp. But she was not about to allow me to be a high school drop out an live in her house while doing it.
Job Corp is what saved my life. In job Corp is where I decided to give up the street life which was never for me,get a trade and focus on my talent for music and poetry as my ticket out of Chicago. Upon completion of Job Corp I returned back to Chicago in 2006. I immediately found a studio and released my first mix tape by 2008. The mixtape gained alot of success locally and eventually landed me a spot on the BET show ” 106 & Park Free Style Friday”. After my return from 106 & park I had new found hope. I knew that in order to really take my career to the next level I would have to completely change my environment. I decided Atlanta would be my new home. Although I didn’t have any family or knew anyone in Atlanta. I put my faith in God and my dreams and moved to Atlanta in September 2009. I spent two years doing local Open mics in Atlanta.
After running out of money from investing it all in my music career. I decided to return to Chicago and enroll in College for Business Administration with the goal being that I would return to ATL with a degree and more money to better network and pursue my career. I return to Chicago in 2011 and enrolled in college. In 2011 I also released another mix tape my second to date. By 2016 I had Decided to return to Atlanta. I also released my third mixtape in 2016 along with a plethora of music videos.In 2017 after getting fired from a job I really love me do to racism I decided I had enough and that I would be moving back to Atlanta because I knew that the key to all my dreams and ambitions were there.
So In 2017 I moved back to Atlanta and dropped my 4th mix tape.I had offers from local music labels but one of my investors stayed in Houston at the time. This is the same time Hurricane Harvey hit so oncd again my music dreams were out on hold as my 4th mixtape was not properly promoted and moved off streaming sites because I lack the funds for proper promotion due to one of my main investors having to deal with Hurricane Harvey.
In 2018 my girlfriend and her decided to have a child. She became pregnant August 2018. With a child on the way I decided to work off jobs in preparation for the new baby. In 2019 after the arrival of my son I released two music videos which did very well and led to the release of my fifth mixtape.In 2020 I begin doing shows all over ATL again and was starting to really grow a solid fan base. But once again my music career would be out on hold as Covid would basically shut everything down. During this time I decided to dive deeper into my Spirituality. The deaths of Nipsey Hussle ( 2019 ) and Kobe Bryant (2020 ) effected me deeply.Combined with the fact the mother of my child and I decided to separate.2020 was starting off very rocky for me.
Then on May 25,2020 my life and purpose would take a drastic turn. After witnessing the death of George Floyd. The Black Activist within me would be activated. His death inspired me to participate Down town ATL in the protest that were taking place all over the world. Having a strong Spiritual upbringing and always feeling a deep connection to black Activist and Activist in general such as Gandi,Malcolm X,Martin Luther King,Angela Davis etc. I found my true purpose. I became filled with and ambition to speak out against White Supremacy and Oppression for people all over the world regardless of Race, Sexual Preference, Religious Beliefs or Economic status. My new mission became to stop making violent rap songs and use my talent to make motivational poetry. I decided to push peace and be a beacon of Divine Love and Unity for Souls all over the planet.
I went live on Facebook addressing issues in society such as Police brutality, the promotion of violence in every day life and the importance of Spirituality and connecting to God and the rest is history. My first live lecture had only 10 people. Once I got off Live I received messages saying how amazing my live lecture was and that I should go live every day. I followed the advice and after only 3 days of live lectures I was already getting 100 people on my live feeds.The FB live lectures became very popular almost instantly and within a month I was getting up to 500 people on my live lectures.Within 3 months I would have as many as 1k people on my live lectures and my videos were being shared by thousands all over Facebook going viral as a result. My audience asked me to start a YouTube channel which I did. I began to go live every Sunday on YouTube giving my live lectures and my videos would do millions of views on YouTube. Tik tok caught on as the youth begin to screen record my YouTube lectures and put them on tic Tok. Which is what would take the rashad Jamal brand to the international level. My videos blew up on tik tock as millions begin to view me as a Spiritual Guru and a modern day Malcolm X. My IG account currently has over 100k followers. My YouTube channel has almost a Quarter Million Subscribers and has over 20 million views on my YouTube channel. I have two YouTuber channels.One for my live lectures and one for my music. My YouTube channel for my live lectures is called ( The University of Cosmic Intelligence) and has a quarter million subscribers. My YouTube channel for my music is called ( Rashad Jamal ) and has almost 100k subscribers.I have over 10k Followers on X and my Hashtag on #RashadJamal on TikTok has over 1 Billion views.
I released my first studio album ( Only The Real Gone Relate ) produced by Granny nominated producer M16 in 2022. The lead single ( Kundalini Energy) has almost 1 million views to date and the album has almost 10 million streams total.In 2023 I released my second studio album followed by my third studio album ( N.O. B.E.A.T.S ) which was just released November 2024. I have my own website ( www.TheUCI.Online ) which has over 30k monthly subscribers.
Today I own 5 Companies all registered to the state of Georgia.I married my beautiful wife of 5 years in 2020 and we have 2 kids. I have a international following and I am viewed as a Poet, Philosopher, Revolutionary, Cosmic Scientists, Spiritual Guru,Messiah, Yogi,9 ETHER BEING and a Luminous Being.Im Also a Philanthropist who donates thousands monthly,feed and pass out money to the homeless,gives back to the women,kids and community and supports local and black owned businesses.
In the future I have books which I will be releasing along with more music and more live lectures. I did my first in person live event in 2022 and sold out the venue.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes there has been many obstacles in setbacks. In 2011 after returning to Chicago from Atlanta and enrolling in college. I was met by old friends and gang members in my old neighborhood who TRYED to take my life because I decided to get out the gang life by enrolling in college. In Jan 2012 I was confronted by gang members in my neighborhood who tryed to rob me at gunpoint. I defended myself and end up being charged with first degree murder. I was facing 31 – 55 years if convicted. I went to trial and was found not guilty.In 2017 I was fired from my job due to racism and was forced to sleep in my car wit no way to pay my rent.
In 2018 I was sent back to jail because I strung out drugs and had a ecstasy addiction which led to me catching a case and being put on probation putting my dreams on hold once again. In 2019 I was offered a 2 million dollar record deal by a record company but turned it down after inappropriate sexual advances were made toward me by man working at the company who told me I would have to participate in Homosexual actions if I wanted the fame and the money.
In 2022 after gaining a international following as a black Activist I had attempts made on my life and told that I would be killed or jailed if I did not stop making YouTube videos speaking out against Bigotry and White Supremacy.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Poet, Philosopher, Revolutionary, Cosmic Scientists, Spiritual Guru and a Yogi.
I am most proud of being able to help liberate the minds and souls of millions while to learn them back to God. I am here to uplift the collective consciousness and spread Divine Love and Peace and Unity.
What sets me apart from others is my Faith in the most high and my obsession with hard work.
What does success mean to you?
I define success not by monetary gain,fame,awards or money but by how many lives one has changed or impacted for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theuci.online
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iam_rashadjamal/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15cez2n64E/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://link.me/iam_rashadjamal
- Twitter: https://x.com/iamrashadjamal
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@theuniversityofcosmicintel369?si=QIFHUEWIl07bt1vX
Image Credits
Image credits 📸 : Laylah White 📸 : Shot by Omar
