Solomon Childs

Rapper and Staten Island native Solomon Childs (born Walbert Ryan Dale in 1975) became affiliated with the mighty Wu-Tang Clan through his family ties to godbrother Cappadonna and cousin Ghostface Killah. Dale contributed to various Wu-Tang-related releases throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s, including verses on Cappadonna’s The Pillage, RZA’s Bobby Digital, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele, and others. In the early 2000s he was a member of the Ghostface-affiliated group Theodore Unit, as well as appearing on tracks by other artists and working on his own releases. Solomon Childs issued a steady string of CD-R albums throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, offering the same kind of frenetic styles and hyper-prolific creative drive that would be represented by mixtape releases in hip-hop’s next generation. In 2016 he was shot twice in a drive-by shooting while out shopping in Staten Island. The rapper underwent multiple surgeries but survived the attempt on his life. He returned in 2017 after the ordeal with Don't Ask Permission, Ask for Forgiveness. ~ Fred Thomas