Montclair native Hussein Fatal dies in accident.
As I was sitting at home looking through my Facebook page this past Saturday, I came across a post that read “Montclair Rapper ‘Hussein Fatal’ dead at 38,” and I couldn’t believe my eyes. According to information that has been released, the driver of the vehicle will be charged with several motor vehicle violations, and the driver was allegedly the girlfriend of Hussein Fatal, also known as Bruce Washington. Some possible charges include: driving under the influence, no proof of insurance, first degree vehicular homicide and reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane.
According to the police report, Washington was ejected from the vehicle which resulted in his death. The car was reportedly driven by 31 year old Zanetta Yearby, a Montclair native who is currently a resident of Conyers, Ga. It is listed as a single car accident with no other cars involved. The crash happened at 2:30 a.m. Saturday on I-85 and exit 149 according to the Bank’s County Sheriff’s office. Yearby is currently in Athens Regional Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Washington had a colorful life as a rapper; he met Tupac while Tupac was in jail and he performed for him, which opened the door to his being added to Tupac’s new hip hop group, Outlaw Immortalz’s. In keeping with the Outlaw Immortalz’s “tyrant” theme, Shakur endowed Washington with the stage name “Hussein Fatal,” after then Ba’athist Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Hussein Fatal made his studio debut in 1996 on Shakur’s double album, All Eyes on Me. He was featured on the songs “All Bout U” and “When we ride.” “Hit ‘Em Up” featured Washington in June of 1996. The song “Hit ‘Em Up,” is said to be considered the greatest “diss song” ever recorded. The song contains “explicit lyrical content and the seriousness of violent intent by Shakur and his colleagues towards their competitors.” Washington performed the song’s second verse, verbally making disparaging remarks towards Shakur’s rivals the Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy and the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Between September of 1996 and December of 1997, Hussein Fatal left the world of hip hop, only to return in December of 1997 due to the birth of his first child Chyna. In March of 1998, he released his first solo album, In the Line of Fire, but due to the label going bankrupt, the album had very poor sales due to the lack of marketing.
Shortly thereafter, Washington began work on a second album, Death Before Dishonor. During that period he also recorded over 40 songs, which included songs featuring rappers Gotti, Ja Rule, Lil’Mo and others. In December of 1999, Washington was arrested on a prior assault charge which resulted in a prison stay until being released in 2001 to a halfway house and then paroled in 2002. In 2003, he made a guest appearance on Ja Rule’s fifth release, Blood in My Eye; he was featured on four songs on that album. In that same year, he appeared on the remix of Ashanti’s “Rain on Me” and in Ja Rule’s “Clap Back” music video.
In 2010, Washington went on to set up his own record label called Thugtertainment. He reunited with Outlawz resulting in the release of Killuminati 2K10 and Killuminati 2K11. He also collaborated with Outlawz on their September 2011 release, “Perfect Timing.” In 2003, an album titled The Interview was set for release in February of that year. There is also a book deal that was in active negotiations for a publishing deal. The title of the book is Journey of an Outlaw. In addition, he appeared on fellow Outlawz member Young Noble’s album Son of God, on the tracks ”Emancipation” and “Welcome to Real Life.”
This Montclair native was a great contribution to the world of hip hop and rap, and will be missed thoroughly.
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