Norman Rogers, a.k.a. Terminator X was born on this day in 1966. With his iconic look -- his towering height, futuristic sunglasses, and stoic expression -- and his peerless ability on the turntables, Terminator X earned a reputation as one of hip hop's most talented DJ's during his almost twenty years with Public Enemy.
Besides his work with Public Enemy, Terminator X also released two solo albums, Terminator X and The Valley of the Jeep Beets and Super Bad, on which Terminator X collaborated with some of hip hop's biggest DJ's, including DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Caz, and more. Both of his solo albums charted on The Billboard Top 200.
Terminator X left the band and walked away from the music scene in 1999. Alongside the other members of Public Enemy, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Nowadays, Terminator X still flexes his musical muscle here on RAPstation, where he DJ's for the weekly web show The Edge, hosted by DJ DVS.
In 2014, Terminator X spoke with Crazy Hood about his decision to leave the industry, the loss of socially conscious rap, and his decision to work in music again. "I am happy to be back to my music. The music “business” took me away from my music. I realized this during some very inspirational words from Quincy Jones at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction," Terminator X said. "His words made me realize that I made a mistake abandoning my love of music. I decided that I was coming home to my music only on my terms and I would not let the music “business” come between us again."
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation.com
